NJIT Highlights at Maine | 3.8.22
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ORONO, ME–The NJIT women's basketball team concluded one of the most successful seasons in the NJIT Division I era in the 2022 America East Conference semifinals, falling 72-48, at top-seeded Maine Tuesday evening inside The Pitt at Memorial Gymnasium.
NJIT finished the season with a 15-15 overall record. The 15 wins are the second-highest win total since moving to Division I (2006-07 season).
The Highlanders, competing in its second season in the America East, were selected eighth in the preseason coaches poll and recorded a program-best nine wins to earn the No. 4 seed in the 2022 America East Conference Playoffs.
NJIT hosted the first-ever America East Conference quarterfinal game on March 5, registering the program's first America East victory and postseason win (NJIT 47, UMass Lowell 33) in over 10 seasons.
The eight road wins is also a new program-best for the Highlanders.
Top-seeded Maine (20-10) was led by a game-best 20 points and seven rebounds from Alba Orois followed by a double-double from America East All-Conference selectee Maeve Carroll with 16 points, 10 rebounds and added seven assists. The Black Bear's Caroline Bornemann notched 12 points and seven rebounds while the league's Player and Defensive Player of the Year Anne Simon added 11 points.
NJIT sophomore Aria Myers led the team with a career-best 12 points off the bench in 24 minutes of action on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Center Kimi Evans notched 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and Kenna Squier chipped in 10 points and dished out four assists.
Top-seeded Maine outscored fourth-seeded NJIT, 21-8, in the first 10 minutes of action. NJIT's Aria Myers and Kimi Evans each combined for four points. Maeve Carroll with eight points for Maine.
NJIT opened the second quarter on a 10-4 spurt behind a pair of back-to-back three-pointers by Ellyn Stoll and Aria Myers at the 6:50, cutting the lead to single digits, seven, for a 25-18 score. Maine closed out the final five minutes on an 11-6 run, heading into the locker room with a 36-24 lead.
Maine's Alba Oris and Meave Carroll each led all scorers with 10 points while Aria Myers paced the Highlanders with nine points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
NJIT came out on first to start the third quarter, out-scoring Maine, 7-2, cutting the deficit to seven, 38-31, resulting in a Maine timeout. Kimi Evans with four points for NJIT in the run. NJIT continued its momentum and pulled within six, 40-34, on a three from the top of the arc by Kenna Squier at the 5:30 mark.
Maine used an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to extend its lead to 48-34 with less than two minutes to go in the quarter. Squier scored on a driving layup with the shot clock winding down, just under the 1:00 mark for a 48-36 score.
The Black Bears outscored the Highlanders in the final stanza, 22-12, and pulled away, cruising into the America East Conference finals on Friday against No. 2 Albany with a 72-48 victory.
Four seniors played in their final collegiate games – Ellyn Stoll (six points), Maddie Martin (three points, three assists), Kimi Evans and Samantha Schultz.
Martin, a four-year member of the NJIT women's basketball team and co-captain this season, Maddie completed her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and is enrolled in the Engineering Management masters program.
Schultz, Another four-year member of the NJIT women's basketball team, Samantha was named to the Dean's List for five semesters and will graduate with a Law, Technology and Culture degree. Just recently, Samantha was accepted into Law School.
Kimi Evans, a two-year member of the NJIT women's basketball team, Kimi joined the Highlanders in 2019-20 after transferring from Seton Hall. Kimi has played in over 90 career games, currently ranks fourth in the America East in blocks per game while leading the Highlanders to a team ranking of 17th in the nation in blocked shots. Evans graduated with a bachelors in Law, Technology and Culture in May 2021 and was named to the Dean's List for two semesters. She is enrolled in the Masters Management Program at NJIT.
Stoll, a two-time team captain, has left her name in the record books, scoring 1,232 career points which ranks third in the NJIT Division I era, 210 three-pointers, ranking second in the NJIT DI era and holds the record for career games with 136 and career starts 122. Ellyn graduated cum laude with a bachelors in business with a concentration in Marketing in December 2020, earning Dean's List for six semesters. She is currently enrolled in the Business Administration MBA Program.
