BURLINGTON, VT–Vermont cruised past visiting NJIT, 67-37, in America East Conference women's basketball action inside Roy Patrick Gymnasium.
Senior Alejandra Zuniga scored 13 points followed by Ava Locklear who contributed seven points while leading the defense with four blocks and two steals, along with collecting six rebounds. Allison Cannon added six points, one assist, and a block. Marissa Gingrich recorded four rebounds and two points.
The first quarter began with NJIT (17-11, 8-7 America East) establishing an early lead, as Alejandra Zuniga scored a layup 30 seconds into play. The Highlanders extended their advantage with a three-pointer from Ava Locklear to make it 5-0. Vermont responded with Keira Hanson hitting a jumper to reduce the deficit and the Catamounts narrowed the gap further when Emma Haan drained a three-pointer, bringing the score to 9-5. Zuniga's layup with 1:26 remaining gave the Highlanders a 16-13 lead after the first 10 minutes..
Vermont (23-7, 12-3 America East) outscored the Highlanders 17-8 in the second quarter, pulling away with a series of key plays. Nikola Priede's jumper and subsequent free throw at 5:42 extended Vermont's lead to three, 23-20 and Weltz added a three-pointer at 4:05 to push the score to 28-20. Allison Cannon's layup with 27 seconds remaining helped NJIT close the gap, finishing the half trailing 30-24.
The Catamounts led the Highlanders 19-7 after the third quarter, extending its lead to as many as 18, including an 8-4 spurt.
Vermont stayed in control scoring the first 14 points of the fourth quarter never looking back and securing a home win with a 67-37 victory.
Next Up
NJIT will face Bryant on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4:30 p.m. This game will be notable as it marks both Senior Day and Alumnae Day for the NJIT women's basketball program. The Highlanders will have a bye next week on Thursday, February 26, before concluding the regular season with this home game.
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