Jan. 11, 2008

Box Score

EDINBURG. TX - Freshman guard Jessica Gerald exploded for a school-record 37 points, pacing NJIT to a 76-61 neutral-site win over California State University, Bakersfield in women's basketball action on the campus of Texas-Pan American Friday night.

Gerald, who played 29 minutes off the Highlander bench, shot a sizzling 13-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-5 on three-pointers, plus 8 of 11 at the foul line for her record scoring line.

Her 37-point outburst was the highest single-game total in the 21-season history of NJIT women's basketball, surpassing Sharon Kukal, who scored 35 against Queens on January 28, 1998, when the Highlanders competed in NCAA Division II.

Naturally, Gerald's 37 points eclipsed the NJIT Division I mark of 22 points, set by Jill Dickinson against Lafayette on December 28, 2006 in the Highlanders' first season of Division I competition.

The last 30-point scoring game for a Highlander woman was on January 19, 2006, when Dickinson, then a freshman, broke out for 31 against Post (CT) in NJIT's final Division II season.

The previous 2007-08 scoring high for NJIT was 20 points by sophomore Taiwo Oyelola two nights earlier on the same UTPA Fieldhouse court in a 67-61 win over host Texas-Pan American.

Oyelola had another fine effort on Friday, chipping in 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. She paced the Highlanders dominance on the backboards, where they outrebounded the Rodarunners, 51-34.

Taiwo's 12 rebounds against the Roadrunners were a personal career high and an NJIT season high--one shy NJIT's I record of 13 rebounds set by Aine O'Dwyer last year against Lafayette.

Dickinson finished with 8 points for NJIT, while freshman point guard Adriana Johnson netted 5 and four others--senior Erika Velez, freshman Ivana Seric, appearing in her second game, captain Katie Piekielski and Kehinde Oyelola, Taiwo's twin, all notched four points.

Three Highlanders notched three assists apiece as the NJIT team combined for 16 assists.

Junior guard Kelley Tarver led Bakersfield with 17 points--11 of which came in the second half. Tarver was 9-for-14 from the free throw line. Junior Christine Kepenekian notched 14 points and junior point guard Krista Arase contributed eight points and a game-high seven assists. Naomi Johnson recorded a team-high 10 rebounds for the Roadrunners, who have lost four in a row.

Gerald led all scorers at halftime Friday, with 15 points, on fine 6-for-9 shooting from the field, but she was just getting started. In the second half, the freshman was a perfect 7-for-7 (two treys) from the field and 6-for-7 at the stripe, pouring in 22 points in 16 second-half minutes.

NJIT, which led at halftime, 28-21, built an 11-point lead, 49-38, on Gerald's free throw with 10:49 left in the game.

However, CSUB fought back and trailed by eight, 56-48, after Kepenekian's jumper from the foul line with 5:59 left.

The Highlanders increased the lead to 14 on a jumper by Taiwo Oyelola in the paint with 1:54 remaining. She was later fouled by Roadrunner Arase with 31 seconds left and sunk the last two points of the game, completing a two-game sweep of the road trip to Texas and giving the Highlanders back-to-back wins against Division I opponents in the brief history at the top level, beginning in 2006-07.

NJIT has three days off before a historic game for the program on Tuesday at 6 pm, when NJIT will host Cornell in the first-ever women's college basketball game in the Prudential Center in downtown Newark.