Box Score
HOUSTON – Junior post Jamie Spriggs set game highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds as the HBU women's basketball team won its first conference game on the season, a 71-66 triumph over visiting NJIT Thursday evening at Sharp Gym.
Spriggs hit 50 percent of her shots (7-of-14) and hit 8-of-12 free throws to lead the Huskies (3-21, 1-8 GWC). The 22 points were the most she scored since scoring a career-high 24 points at Texas Southern two months ago. Megan Green scored 17 points as she scored a half-high 15 in the opening half. She also had three assists, four steals and four rebounds. Tia Jackson rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10. The Huskies were without the services of leading scorer Destini Texada for the majority of the game, as she played just 13 minutes in the first half and none of the second due to an undisclosed medical condition.
NJIT (7-15, 3-4 GWC) was also without leading scorer Jessica Gerald and was led tonight by Rayven Johnson with 14 points. The Huskies kept her at bay compared to last month in Newark, as Johnson had hit nine 3-pointers (eight in the first half) for 30 points. Uju Nwankwo came off the bench to score 12 points for the Highlanders.
“I am so proud of this group tonight,” said head coach Mary Gleason. “To play against a team that we were so flat against in New Jersey and to do it without our leading scorer is tremendous. Megan Green stepped up, scored 17 points, Tia had 10. Jamie played great, scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds. We're at the point where we keep getting better and they proved that tonight. It was 40 minutes of great effort and we worked hard enough to be able to seal it at the end.”
HBU scored the game's first basket as Spriggs hit a jumper in the paint 24 seconds into the game. The Highlanders tied it up with a jumper by Emily Schartner, but the Huskies rattled off eight straight points to lead 10-2 with 17:10 remaining in the opening half. Texada hit a jumper and the next Highlander possession, Texada stole the ball and was fouled in the act of shooting. She made both free throws. Texada stole the ball again on the next NJIT possession and it resulted in one free throw made by Spriggs.
After an NJIT turnover, Green hit a three-pointer. Kristian Parker stopped the Husky run with a layup to make it 10-4 HBU with 16:05 left in the first half.
Green hit a jumper to give the hosts an eight-point advantage again. Following another steal by Texada, Spriggs went in and had a layup to give HBU a 14-4 advantage with 14:21 left in the opening half.
NJIT used an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to two, as Parker had back-to-back jumpers which resulted in an HBU timeout. Johnson had a layup followed by two made free throws by Marcy Williams, as HBU led 14-12 with 12:11 left in the first half.
Following a media timeout, Mele Leasau was fouled and hit both of her free throws. NJIT answered with a jumper by Johnson, but Texada came right back with a jumper of her own as HBU led by four, 18-14, with 11:27 left in the half.
Seventeen seconds later, the lead was down to one, as Schartner hit a three-pointer, as HBU led 18-17. Brittany Barton hit a jumper and the Huskies were back up by three, 20-17, with 11:02 left.
Williams hit a jumper followed by a Nwankwo jumper and NJIT had its first lead of the game, 21-20, with 9:41 remaining in the half.
The next Husky possession, Green hit a three-pointer and the Huskies were back up by two, 23-21, with 9:22 left. The ensuing NJIT possession, Green stole the ball, went all the way to the basket and was fouled. She hit both of her free throws as HBU was up by four, 25-21, with 9:07 remaining in the first half.
Ivana Seric hit a jumper to cut the Husky lead to two, followed by one made free throw by Parker and HBU was only up by one, 25-24, with 6:54 left in the first half.
Spriggs hit a jumper, followed by a layup by Green and HBU was up five, 29-24, with six minutes remaining. Kimberly Dweck hit two free throws on the next Highlander possession, which was answered by a jumper by Joselyn Pugh. Parker hit a jumper followed by a Johnson layup and HBU was up one, 31-30, with 3:03 remaining.
HBU went on a 6-0 run to close the opening half, as Spriggs was fouled and hit both free throws, Jackson was fouled and hit one of two and Green hit a three pointer with five seconds left as the two teams entered halftime with HBU up, 37-30.
The second half started slow, as nearly two minutes went past without any points. Spriggs stopped the drought with a jumper. She was fouled and made the free throw for a three-point play as HBU led 40-30 with 18:15 left in the second half.
Seric hit a jumper, but Spriggs went down the court and hit another jumper and was fouled again. She missed the free throw for the three-point play and the ensuing NJIT possession, Johnson hit a three pointer as the Huskies were up, 42-35, with 17:39 remaining in the second half.
Dweck hit a jumper, followed by one free throw made by Nwankwo and HBU was up by four, 42-38, with 15:34 remaining.
Following an NJIT turnover, Jackson hit a three-pointer and the Huskies were back up by seven. Nwankwo hit a jumper followed by a Seric jumper and HBU was up by three, 45-42, with 14 minutes left in the second half.
Following one free throw made by Jackson, Johnson hit a three-pointer, followed by one free throw made by Nwankwo and the teams were tied, 46-46, with 11:46 remaining in the second half. Jackson and Seric traded buckets and HBU went on a 6-0 run to lead 54-48 with 9:23 remaining. Pugh had a layup, followed by two free throws on the next possession. After a defensive rebound, Spriggs was fouled and made both free throws. Williams stopped the Husky run with a layup as HBU led by four, 54-50, with 8:31 left.
Barton was fouled on the next Husky possession and made both free throws, but were answered with a layup by Nwankwo. After a block, Nwankwo had a layup, followed by a three-pointer by Schartner and NJIT was back on top, 57-56, with 6:18 remaining in the second half.
Pugh gave the Huskies the lead again with a jumper, followed by a layup by Spriggs and one made free throw, as HBU led by four, 61-57, with 4:43 remaining.
Dweck hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one, but Leasau had a layup to give the hosts a three-point lead at 63-60 with 4:12 left in the second half.
Seric had a layup, which was answered by a Spriggs jumper, as HBU led 65-62 with 3:37 left in the second half.
Two minutes went by without a basket until Johnson hit a jumper to cut the Husky lead to one, 65-64, with 1:27 left, prompting an immediate NJIT timeout.
Following the timeout, Spriggs was fouled and hit one of two free throws as HBU was up two, 66-64, with 1:07 left. Leasau had a defensive rebound and Jackson was intentionally fouled. She made one of two free throws, prompting an NJIT timeout with 42 seconds left and HBU up, 67-64.
The Highlanders missed a shot and Jackson was fouled and made both free throws to give the Huskies a 69-64 lead with 11 seconds left. Nwankwo hit a jumper followed by an NJIT timeout with two seconds left and HBU up by three, 69-66. Green was fouled and hit both free throws to end the scoring.
HBU (3-21, 1-8 GWC) will head to Utah to face Utah Valley on Feb. 26 at 5:30 pm CST.
