BALTIMORE – UMBC returned to the court for the first time in 25 days and gave a scrappy effort before falling, 72-58, to first-place NJIT.
Graduate student forward Janee'a Summers (Bound Brook, N.J.) led all scorers with 21 points and added nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Alexia Nelson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added four steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
·       The Highlanders, who have posted wins over Wisconsin and America East pre-season favorite Stony Brook in the past month, shot 71.4 percent from the floor in the first quarter and opened up a 25-10 lead after 10 minutes.
·       Led by eight points by Nelson, UMBC outscored NJIT, 14-13, in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 38-24 at intermission.
·       The Highlanders reasserted themselves in the third quarter, outscoring UMBC, 22-15, and building their advantage to 60-39 after 30 minutes.
·       But the hosts scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter and closed to within 10 points at 64-54 after Nelson swished a pair of free throws with 5:26 remaining. Summers converted a pair of free throws with 2:51 remaining to again cut the deficit to ten at 68-58, but the Retrievers could not get to within single digits down the stretch.
UMBC outrebounded NJIT, 34-33, as Summers and Onome-Juliet Esadah (Warri, Delta State, Nigeria) contributed nine rebounds apiece. Despite the long layoff, the Retrievers only committed a dozen turnovers, six below their previous per-game average.
Summers became the 14th Retriever to surpass the 1,100-point mark with 1,103.
The Retrievers open a three-game America East road swing at Vermont (1:00 p.m.) on Saturday.