VIDEO: NJIT Highlights vs. Bryant
VIDEO: ESPN+ Drew Casey Post Game Interview w/ head coach Mike Lane and Alejandra Zuniga
VIDEO: Post Game Wrap Up with ESPN+ Mike Ventola and Assistant Coach Colleen Moriarty
NEWARK, NJ–Five Highlanders scored in double-figures paced by freshman Alejandra Zuniga's game-tying 19 points as NJIT rallied back down by as many as 18 in a come-from-behind overtime win over visiting Bryant, 71-67, in a Wednesday America East Conference matinee inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center on Education Day.
The overtime win is the second of the season (71-65 OT win vs. CCSU) for NJIT and the Highlanders are winners of the last two out of three games. NJIT moved to .500 on the season (9-9 overall) and 4-2 the America East.
Down by as many as 18, NJIT rallied back to cut the Bulldog lead to single digits eight, 43-35, paced by eight straight points by Zuniga at the 4:08 mark of the third quarter. Bryant pushed its advantage back to double-digits to take a 16-point lead, 54-38 just under one-minute. An old-fashioned three-point play by Aria Myers sparked a 5-2 run for NJIT to close out the third quarter down by 12, 55-43.
NJIT came out on fire in the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight, pulling within three of Bryant, 55-52 capped by a pair of free throws by Zuniga. The Bulldogs pushed its advantage to five, 59-54 at the 3:24 mark. NJIT scored eight straight points, knotting the game at 59-all after a steal and layup by Zuniga and went ahead for the first time in the second half, 62-59 on a three-point play by Trinity Williams. Bryant called for a timeout with less than :30 left to go in regulation and would tie the game at 62-62 on a three-pointer by Alanda Perkins with :22 on the clock. The Bulldog defense forced a missed shot by the Highlanders in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, the game saw two ties the final at 67-67 on a driving layup by Lyzi Litwinko. The Highlanders finished out the game on an 8-0 run and went ahead 69-67 on a layup by Zuniga and secured the game with a four-point advantage, 71-67 on another layup by Litwinko to earn the home victory.
Zuniga, who shared game-high honors with Bryant's Alana Perkins, netting 19 points, finished 7-for-16 from the field with four steals and three assists. Junior guard Lyzi Litwink was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds followed by Aria Myers and Kiana Brereton with 11 points apiece and Kenna Squier who chipped in 10 points. Trinity Williams pulled down 10 rebounds and combined for two blocked shots in the win.
Perkins finished 6-for-10 from three-point range and added six rebounds while Nicole Gallagher notched a double-double with 14 points and a game-best 15 rebounds. Megan Bodziony added 12 points and Alejandra Ferreiros pulled down 14 rebounds.
After three early ties in the opening two minutes of action, Bryant went ahead 14-9 at the three minute mark. A three-pointer by Grace Plummer in front of the Bryant bench cut the lead to two, 14-12, with less than two minutes to go and the Bulldogs connected on a pair of three-pointers to close out the first quarter ahead, 20-12.
Bryant stayed hot into the second quarter, using a 19-4 run over the last nine minutes to take a 33-15 lead. NJIT finished strong in the last two minutes using a 5-1 spurt to close the Bulldog gap to within 15, 35-20, after the first 20 minutes.
At the half, Megan Bodziony led all scorers with 10 points followed by Nicole Gallagher with seven points and a game-best nine rebounds. Bryant shot 40% from three-point range (4-for-10) and out rebounded the Highlanders 28-to-18 on the boards.
In pregame ceremonies, Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan and fifth-year head coach Mike Lane presented senior Kenna Squier with a ball to commemorate scoring her 1,000 career point. Squier eclipsed 1,000 career points on January 14 at UAlbany. She becomes the 12th player in NJIT women's basketball history to reach the 1K milestone and fifth player in the NJIT Division I era to score 1,000 career points.
NJIT will return to action on Saturday at 7pm when the Highlanders host Vermont. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
