NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The NJIT women’s basketball team made history, defeating Merrimack 68-65 in the opening round of the 2026 Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) to secure their first postseason victory in program history.
Merrimack went on an early 12-3 run to stake an early lead against NJIT, with the Warriors’ lead eventually growing to a 23-9 advantage late in the first period. However, NJIT clawed its way back into the game with a 10-2 run over the final 3:07 to close the gap to six at the end of the first quarter.
The Highlanders continued to scratch and claw to stay in the game, not allowing the Warriors to extend their lead to any more than nine points for the remainder of the half, and headed into the locker room trailing by only five at 40-35.
NJIT continued to fight through the third quarter and finally took the lead with 1:02 left in the period on a pair of free throws from Alejandra Zuniga. Layups from NJIT’s Marissa Gingrich and Merrimack’s Paloma Garcia closed out the third period with the Highlanders on top 55-54.
The Warriors regained the lead to start the fourth quarter and led by as much nine with 6:53 remaining in the game. From there, however, it would be all NJIT. Zuniga got a steal and a bucket in transition to trigger a 13-1 Highlander run to close out the game.
Zuniga led NJIT with 20 points, two steals, and five assists. Ava Locklear finished her evening with a double-double, scoring 13 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, and Allison Cannon finished her night a perfect 5-5 from the field with 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
With the win, the Highlanders advance to face Army in the second round of the WNIT at West Point, N.Y. on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
