The NJIT Highlanders Women’s Basketball team (4-10, 1-0 America East) rallied late to defeat the Binghamton Bearcats(8-6, 0-1 America East) 58-49 in the America East Conference Opener at the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The Highlanders, showing remarkable resilience, registered their second straight win after enduring an eight-game losing skid.
“Our out of conference play was tough sledding but we were in every game, we were confident even with losing and losing close games and tonight we won a close game and learned how to do that,” NJIT Head Coach Lane remarked. “The players stayed upbeat and confident to get these last two.”
NJIT Freshman Olivia Kulyk provided clutch scoring and rebounding by posting a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
“Olivia is kind of playing out right now which she is toggling between a forward and guard,” Head Coach Mike Lane explained. “She’s just so confident right now and cool with a straight face and just plays.” “Nothing is bothering her right now and plays to that next play and the team really looked to her to ice the game and get her the ball late and finished it off with the free throws.”
In the fourth quarter, the Highlanders trailed 47-41 but responded with a 5-0 spurt, with Alejandra Zuniga draining a trifecta and a lay-up by Trinity Williams.
After Binghamton went up 49-46, NJIT answered back as Aria Myers had a spectacular tip-in in the low block off a missed jump shot, followed by Madilyn Dogs’ nifty lay-up in the low post, putting the Highlanders up 50-46, with four minutes remaining.
“A huge bucket by Maddie Dogs and early on she had some good offensive flow, and we didn’t hit the shots off her passing,” Head Coach Mike Lane described. “Maddie is going to give you effort with rebounding and defense, and she had to sit for a while then went in late in the fourth quarter.”
Up until the seven-plus minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Highlanders were struggling mightily from the free-throw line, but down the stretch, they knocked down the shots when it counted, hitting eight of ten shots to seal the victory. NJIT’s defense was stifling in the final frame, limiting the Bearcats to four points.
The Highlanders wreaked havoc on the defensive end, causing Binghamton to commit 22 turnovers, which led to a 25-15 advantage in points off turnovers. Meanwhile, NJIT’s bench stepped up by tallying 19 points.
“We were able to stop them from the arc and No. 20 (Bella Pucci) and No. 24 (Jadyn Welz) are great shooters and kicked us in the paint, but we finished the job off at the free-throw line,” Head Coach Mike Lane noted. “Free-throws, getting stops, rebounding and not letting them score and really proud of them and that losing streak was really hard.”
“It’s good to bring two 5th year players in Enya(Maguire) and Aria(Myers) off the bench and Trinity(Williams) has so much experience and to get her back which is forever and impressed by how she played.” “Aria took two charges and the rebound tip-in a huge play.” “Our bench played great, and the freshman are learning how that every possession counts.”
Early in the first quarter, the Highlanders trailed 19-11 and 28-18 with four minutes left in the second quarter. However, NJIT countered with a run to trim the deficit to 30-26, with Olivia Kulyk(10 points) and Enya Maguire(6 points) combining to score 16 points.
“We were down ten but didn’t use a timeout and didn’t want to get down more and then Enya and Olivia hit three’s and that was huge,” Head Coach Mike Lane stated. “I thought we had some looks in the first quarter that didn’t go down and we didn’t panic and just chipped away.”
The Highlanders return to action on Thursday, January 11th, when they travel to UMBC(7-6, 0-1 America East). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
“There’s a new coach at UMBC and we don’t know a whole lot and that’s tough scout,” Head Coach Mike Lane said. “Going through the conference the first time is like a final exam and this out finals but we got to go out on the road and get a conference win.”