ORONO, ME–Maine recorded an 86-67 home win over visiting NJIT outscoring the Highlanders 20-8 in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon in America East Conference women's basketball action inside Skip Chappelle Court at Memorial Gym.
Maine, winners of the last five out of six games, improved to 8-9 overall, 3-1 in the America East while NJIT moved to 11-6 overall, 2-2 in the America East.
Three players reached double-figures for NJIT led by Alejandra Zuniga (22), Marissa Gingrich (14) and Olivia Kulyk (11). Gingrich grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and Kulyk dished out five assists.
Maine started off the game on an 11-7 lead but NJIT used a 9-2 spurt capped by a layup by Olivia Kulyk at the 2:04 mark. Maine scored on consecutive baskets and a jumper by Marissa Gingrich at the end of the quarter put NJIT up by one 18-17.
The Black Bears opened up the second quarter on a 9-3 spurt at the seven-minute mark for a five-point lead, 26-21. Gingrich knocked down a jumper to cut the Black Bears deficit to five, 30-25, but Maine closed out the quarter on a 9-3 run for an 11-point halftime lead, 39-28.
Leading the way for the Highlanders was Gingrich with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range while Maine Adrianna Smith led all players with a double-double through the first 20 minutes with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
NJIT started off the third quarter on a 13-5 run, closing the Black Bears gap to within three, 44-41, on a three-pointer in front of the NJIT bench by Allison Cannon with seven on the clock. Both teams traded baskets over the next two minutes with Maine taking a seven-point lead, 60-53, behind a 9-2 spurt for the Black Bears. Alejandra Zuniga knocked down a three-pointer at the top of the arc pulling the Highlander within seven, 66-59.
Maine took control using a 10-2 run into the under-five media timeout of the fourth quarter and closed out the game outscoring the visiting Highlanders 20-8, securing the home victory 86-66.
Adrianna Smith led all players with a double-double (30 points, 13 rebounds) and added eight assists while Sarah Talon netted 19 points followed by Asta Blauenfeldt with 18.
Next Up
NJIT will return to action on Thursday at 11am when the Highlanders host UMass Lowell in their annual Education Day. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with in-game statistics available on NJITHighlanders.com.
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