NJIT Holds On For A 67-63 Win At CCSU, Picks Up Third Straight Win

The NJIT women's basketball team picked up its third straight win of the season, holding on for a 67-63 win at Central Connecticut State Sunday afternoon in women's basketball non-conference action at Detrick Gymnasium.

NJIT, winners of three in a row, began its win streak with an upset win at Big Ten opponent Wisconsin (61-49) on Nov. 14, followed up with an home overtime victory against LIU (59-53) on Nov. 18 and held on for a 67-63 win against the Blue Devils.

The last time the Highlanders won three straight was in 2019-20 during a stretch of a pair of wins at home against St. Francis Brooklyn (Nov. 26, 2019) and Saint Peter's (Dec. 4, 2019) and on the road at Hartford (Dec. 7, 2019).

Redshirt senior Kimi Evans led the way for the Highlanders scoring a team-best 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field while pulling down seven rebounds.  Fifth-year Ellyn Stoll and sophomore Lyzi Litwinko each chipped in 11 points followed by junior Kenna Squier with 10 points.  Junior forward Maria Fux added nine points and six rebounds.

NJIT, which held a 39-to-38 advantage on the boards, was paced by 5-foot-9 guard Litwinko, who just missed posting a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds.  

For the game, NJIT finished shooting 46.3% from the field (25-for-54), 43.8% from three-point range and 62.5% from the free throw line (10-of-16).  Stoll led the Highlanders from behind the arc, shooting 3-of-5.

CCSU (1-3) was paced by a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds from Ashley Berube and Dejah Jenkins 18 points and six rebounds.

NJIT got off to an early 5-4 lead on a three-pointer in the corner by Squier but CCSU used a 9-2 run, taking a 14-7 advantage capped by Dejah Jenkins' second three-pointer in the run at the 3:30 mark.  NJIT closed the Blue Devil gap to within three, 14-11, on a nice curl and finish in the paint by Litwinko to end the period.

Sophomore Grace Plummer knocked down her first points of the contest with a three-pointer to knot the game at 14-all 10 seconds into the second quarter and redshirt senior Kimi Evans gave the Highlanders its second lead of the game, 19-18, on a strong finish down low with 6:40 remaining.  

Neither team scored over the next 3:30 until Fux connected on a three-pointer, marking the largest lead of the game for the Highlanders, 22-19.  The games saw two ties in the final 1:35 and the score remained tied at 26-all, heading into the half.

For NJIT, Litwinko, Fux and Squier each chipped in six points while Litwinko grabbed five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

NJIT produced 24 points in the third quarter, holding a four-point lead, 50-46, heading into the fourth quarter. Late in the quarter, Kimi Evans scored seven consecutive points, including a three-pointer from the top of the key, to pace the Highlanders with 13 points. 

A pair of three-pointers by Stoll in the fourth quarter, the Highlanders took a double-digit lead, 10, 56-46 at the 8:20 mark. 

CCSU scored six straight, cutting the NJIT deficit to four, 58-54. NJIT pushed its lead back up to seven, 61-54, after a step back turnaround jumper by Fux at the under-five media timeout.

NJIT took a seven-point lead, 66-59, on a jumper by Kiana Brereton just under the two-minute mark.  The Blue Devils scored four consecutive points, slimming the Highlander lead to three, 66-63 with 1:19 left in the game but the Highlanders held off CCSU in the final minute of play to secure its third win of the season with a 67-63 victory.

The Highlanders will wrap up its short two-game road trip at Fairleigh Dickinson, the Highlanders third straight opponent from the Northeast Conference on Wednesday, November 24 at the Rothman Center. The game which was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. will tip-off at 1 p.m.