CHICAGO – Sophomore Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) led five Chicago State players in double figure scoring with a season-best 22 points as the Cougars posted a 71-60 home win over visiting NJIT Saturday afternoon at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center. CSU improved its season record to 10-8 while the Highlanders dropped to 4-12.
CSU began the game with a 10-2 run in the first three minutes of the game with Waldon scoring six points during that stretch. NJIT later captured a 16-13 lead at 10:27 with a 14-3 scoring drive as sophomore Jessica Gerald and senior Jessie McCaffrey combined for 10 points over the 6:25 stretch.
The home team then used its defensive pressure to post a 13-0 run over five minutes to reclaim the lead at 26-16 with 4:55 remaining in the half. Waldon, senior Jasmin Dixon (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) and freshman Natalie Marlowe (South Milwaukee, WI/South Milwaukee) (South Milwaukee, Wis.) each scored four points during the run. Gerald tallied eight points as part of a 12-2 run in the final 4:28 of the half as CSU entered halftime holding a slim 29-28 lead.
A 22-12 scoring drive in the opening 6:30 of the second half propelled the Cougars to a 51-38 advantage at 13:30 after freshman Jael Peña (Harlem, N.Y.) connected on a three-pointer.
The Highlanders closed their deficit to 52-46 after using a 9-1 run in just three and a half minutes and culminated with a McCaffrey layup at 10:11. After NJIT junior Taiwo Oyelola tied the score at 54-all with a jumper at 7:16, CSU went on a 17-6 scoring run in the final 6:24 led by Peña's seven points to provide the final margin.
Dixon finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Cougars, while Marlowe tallied 12 points and a season-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-best 12 rebounds in addition to a career high-tying three assists. Peña added 10 points and five assists for CSU.
NJIT was led by Gerald with a game-high 34 points with seven rebounds. McCaffrey posted eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and Oyelola recorded five rebounds with four points and two blocked shots.
CSU closes its homestand on Tuesday, Jan. 20 with a contest against IPFW with the tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.
~ CSU ~
