NJIT-Army West Point Post Game Show w/ ESPN+ Drew Casey & Head Coach Mike Lane 

NEWARK, NJ–Junior Alejandra Zuniga scored a game-best 25 points but it wasn't enough as visiting Army West Point edged NJIT in overtime, 69-68, Wednesday evening in women's basketball non-conference action inside the Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center.

Army West Point, winners of five straight, improved to 5-1 on the season while the Highlanders moved to 2-4 on the young season.

In overtime, the score saw two ties 60-60 and 63-63 until Army West Point took a two-point lead, 65-63, at the 2:14 mark.  Olivia Kulyk came off the bench and connected on a three-pointer to put the Highlanders ahead by one, 66-65, with 1:08 on the clock.  The Black Knights answered on the opposite end to up by one, 67-66.  NJIT's Zuniga worked her way through the paint with a driving layup for a one-point advantage, 68-67, with twenty four seconds left to go.  A second chance put back by Army West Point Kya Smith with eleven seconds remaining would be the final bucket of the night and game-winner to give the Black Knights the one-point edge over the Highlanders, 69-68.

In addition to Zuniga's game-best 25 points, senior Trinity Williams combined for her first double-double of the season, tallying 14 points and 14 rebounds (one-shy her personal-best mark).  Williams finished 5-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with a game-best four blocks.  Freshmen Olivia Kulyk and Allison Cannon chipped in seven and six points respectively coming off the bench for the Highlanders.

The Black Knights had four players in double-figures paced by Trinity Hardy's double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds), followed by Camryn Tade (15), Fiona Hastick (13) and Reese Ericson (11).    Tade grabbed nine rebounds in the win. 

Army West Point scored the first seven points of the game for an early 7-0 run.  NJIT scored the next five out of seven points, including a three-point play by Alejandra Zuniga to pull within four, 9-5.  NJIT used an 8-0 spurt late in the first quarter to increase the Highlander lead to four, 15-11, with 1:18 on the clock, capped by a driving layup by Marissa Gingirch.  Army West Point finished the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a three-point advantage, 18-15.  Zuniga scored 11 of NJIT's 15 points after the first 10 minutes.

The Black Knights led by five, 22-17 at the 8:03 mark in the second quarter but the Highlanders rallied back scoring nine unanswered points sparked by a layup from Zuniga for a 26-22 lead.  Army West Point went on a short 6-0 spurt to go ahead, 31-28.  A 7-4 spurt for the Highlanders in the final 2:33, which included a three-pointer from the top of the key by Olivia Kulyk, tied the score at 35-all.  Zuniga scored 18 of NJIT's 35 points in the first 20 minutes, leading all players at the half.

A low-scoring third quarter for both teams saw the Highlanders edge the Black Knights, 13-9, and take a four-point lead behind an 11-3 run, 48-44, heading into the fourth quarter.

Both teams traded points in the first four minutes of the final quarter with Army West Point closing the Highlander gap to within two, 54-52, with less than five minutes to go.  The Black Knights tied it up at 54-all and went ahead 56-54 after scoring six straight points with 3:07 to play.  Enya Maguire connected on a three-pointer on the wing to give NJIT a one-point lead, 57-56 at the 1:50 mark.  Zuniga made one-of-two from the free throw line with less than forty seconds remaining.  Army West Point scored quickly on a layup with twenty-five seconds on the clock and knotted the game at 58-all.  

Next Up
NJIT will go on the road and visit Merrimack on Saturday at 2pm on ESPN+.

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