WEST POINT, N.Y. – The NJIT women’s basketball team started out hot, but ultimately a cooler second half and an Army rally proved to be the difference in the Highlanders’ 59-52 Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) second round loss at West Point.
The first period started out as a back-and-forth affair with neither team garnering more than a six point lead. However, Olivia Kulyk knocked down a jumper in the lane with 5:21 left in the frame to trigger a 21-0 NJIT run over the remainder of the quarter and early into the second stanza to stake the Highlanders to a 15 point, 28-13 lead 44 seconds into the second period.
From their, Army tried to claw its way back into the contest getting as close as eight after the Black Knights’ Kya Smith drained a jumper to cut NJIT’s lead to 30-22 with 4:41 remaining in the half. The Highlanders, for their part, responded only allowing one more Army field goal the rest of the half while getting three free throws from Alejandra Zuniga and a transition basket from Marissa Gingrich to go into halftime with a 35-24 lead.
NJIT shot a blistering 59.1 percent (13-22) from the field while holding Army to a dismal 24.3 percent (9-37) in the first half.
The second half saw the script flip as Army started to find their groove and NJIT began to cool off.
The Black Knights fought to stay in the game throughout the third quarter, but for the most part, the Highlanders were relatively able to maintain control of the game. However, after a Zuniga steal and fast break basket put NJIT up 43-32 with 3:32 to go in the period, Smith knocked down a jumper in the paint to start a 9-3 Army run to cut the Highlander lead to just four after three quarters.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Black Knights. Army’s Reganne Beardon opened up the scoring in the final period to cut the NJIT lead to two, then the Black Knights’ Camryn Tade scored on a layup to tie the game at 45, and Beardon again found the bottom of the net to give Army a two point lead with 6:25 left in the contest.
To their credit though, NJIT did not fold easily. A Zuniga free throw and Kulyk three sandwiched around an Army bucket temporarily tied the game at 49 with 4:10 to go in the game. However, a 10-3 run Black Knight run to close out the game spelled an end to the Highlanders’ season.
Second half field goal percentages were the complete opposite of the first half. NJIT shot a measly 19.2 percent (5-26) from the field in the second half while Army drastically improved on their first half showing shooting 60 percent (15-25) from the field.
Zuniga was the catalyst for the Highlander offense leading the way with 17 points while also nabbing three steals. Gingrich and Kulyk added an additional 13 and 12 points respectively for NJIT and Kulyk led the Highlanders with seven rebounds.
Despite the loss, NJIT wraps up a successful 2025-2026 season. Beyond earning their first ever post season victory over Merrimack in the first round of the WNIT, the Highlanders also set program records for overall wins (19) and road victories (10), and tied the school record for America East Conference wins with nine.
