VIDEO: NJIT Highlights
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ–NJIT's Aria Myers pull up jumper from the elbow sent the game into overtime tied at 55 but Monmouth outscored NJIT, 15-7 in the extra period to secure the 70-62 overtime victory inside OceanFirst Bank Center Sunday afternoon in women's basketball non-conference action.
With the win, Monmouth improved to 4-3 on the young season while the Highlanders, who entered the game on a three-game win streak, moved to 4-3 on the season.
Monmouth's Ariana Vanderhoop led all scorers with a game-best 17 points followed by Belle Branbuhl, who registered a double-double with 11 points and game-high 10 rebounds to go along with five blocks. Briana Tinsley chipped in 10 points and dished out five assists.
For NJIT, Kenna Squier and Alejandra Zuniga led the Highlanders with 14 points apiece followed by Lyzi Litwinko's 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
All tied at 55-all at the end of regulation, Monmouth outscored visiting NJIT, 15-7, in the overtime, including a 9-3 spurt in the final :45 seconds to secure the 70-62 home victory.
Monmouth started off the first stanza on a 7-4 run but the Highlanders used an 8-0 spurt late capped by six consecutive points by Kenna Squier for a 14-9 lead with 3:12 on the clock. The Highlanders closed out the period on a 15-4 run, behind eight points from Squier on 4-of-6 shooting, which led all players through the first 10 minutes.
Alejandra Zuniga scored NJIT's only points of the second quarter on a driving layup, heading into the under-five media timeout and Zuniga knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to give NJIT a six-point lead, 26-20, at the 4:11 mark. NJIT maintained a six-point lead over the next two minutes as Monmouth slimmed the Highlander lead to four, 28-24, with less than two minutes to play. Lilly Anderson put NJIT back up by six, 30-24, with an up and under move with less than a minute to go.
At the half, Zuniga led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting followed by Squier with eight points.
NJIT scored the first seven consecutive points of the third quarter to push its lead to 13, 37-24. The Hawks rallied back and used a 7-2 spurt to cut the Highlander lead to single digits, 39-31, at the under-five media timeout. A three-pointer in the corner by Reese Vaughan pushed the NJIT advantage up to nine, 42-33, but a stepback three-pointer by Ariana Vanderhoop sparked an 8-2 run for the Hawks, pulling within three of NJIT, 44-41, capped by a trey ball of her own from Amiya Carroll with eight second left on the clock.
The fourth quarter, which saw five ties, saw both teams trade points throughout the final 10 minutes of regulation. Myers connected on a pull up jumper from the elbow with less than :30 for a 55-55 tie. After a called timeout by fifth-year head coach Mike Lane to set up one final play with two seconds on the clock was a call to Myers who received a double screen and rolled out to the three-point line. Her shot rolled in-and-out of the cylinder as the two teams headed to overtime.
NJIT will return home and wrap up play in the month of November on the 30th, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson from the Northeast Conference. Tipoff is slated for 7pm inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
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