NEWARK, N.J. – Junior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) recorded a double-double with game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds, but Chicago State's comeback from a double-digit deficit in the second half fell short as the Cougars (7-14, 2-2) dropped a close 60-56 decision at NJIT (7-11, 2-1) in Great West Conference women's basketball battle Saturday afternoon here at the Fleisher Athletic Center.
NJIT posted an early 3-0 lead just one minute into the first half as senior Taiwo Oyelola connected on three of her first four free throws, but the Cougars posted a 6-0 run in a 46 second span to gain a 6-3 lead at the 17:05 mark following a fast break layup by senior Laureen Pierson (Dayton, OH/Northmont) (Dayton, Ohio). The Highlanders then went on a 27-16 scoring drive over the next 15 and a-half minutes to recapture the lead at 30-22 entering halftime thanks to eight points from senior Keyhinde Oyelola.
The Cougars started the second half with an 11-4 run in nearly four minutes to slice their deficit to 34-33 with 16:26 remaining after junior Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) scored on a layup. A 14-5 NJIT run which lasted nearly nine minutes with six points coming from Oyelola helped increase the home team's advantage to 50-38 at the 6:30 mark. CSU bounced back with a 15-8 run in five-plus minutes to close within 58-55 with 45 seconds left in the game when Waldon drained her fifth three-pointer of the half. After the visitors pulled within 58-56 with 13 seconds left, the Highlanders closed out the game with a pair of free throws from freshman Rayven Johnson with three-tenths of a second remaining to close the game.
Wroten finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for Chicago State, while junior Caila Desroches (Long Island, NY/Monroe CC) made a big homecoming to the New York-New Jersey area with nine points, six boards and two blocks in 14 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) finished the game with seven rebounds and seven assists for CSU.
Oyelola paced NJIT with 14 points and nine rebounds on the day, while Johnson and sophomore Melanie Griffin each added 10 points. Senior Ivana Seric added eight points, seven assists and four steals for the Highlanders.
The Cougars kick off a three-game Great West Conference homestand at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center on Thursday, Jan. 28 when they host conference rival Utah Valley with a start time of 5 p.m.
~CSU~
