BALTIMORE - Jade Tillman's shot with one second left on the clock sent UMBC past NJIT in the America East Quarterfinal on Thursday night inside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. With the 66-65 victory, UMBC advances to the America East Semifinals at Vermont on Monday evening at 6 p.m.

The Retrievers trailed by as many as 16 in the contest, falling behind 38-22 with 1:47 to play. Dagny Slomack drilled a three off a Gabby Scott feed with 44 seconds left in the half. Tillman beat the buzzer to end the first half, quickly trimming the deficit to 11 at the break. 

UMBC got within six as Carmen Yánez found Alaina Williams with 6:34 on the third quarter clock, but NJIT pushed the lead back up to 11 with 3:18 to go in the third. Trailing by nine with 1:21 to play, Yánez drilled a pull-up three with 1:08 to play before Scott came away with a steal and Yánez connected again with Williams to pull UMBC within four entering the fourth quarter. 

Both teams traded threes early in the fourth with Slomack drilling a triple to make it a three-point game with 8:42 remaining. A minute later, Tillman came away with a steal and got out in transition to make it a 55-54 game. NJIT was able to push the lead to five with 3:19 left, but UMBC continued to chip away, getting a layup from Yánez with 2:47 remaining and a transition layup from Slomack on a nice full-court feed from Yánez to pull UMBC back within one with under two minutes to play. 

Alejandra Zuniga and Tillman traded buckets, making it 65-64 in favor of the Highlanders with 49 seconds remaining. Tillman missed the free throw on a potential three-point play, but Kennedy Austin came up with a massive block to force a shotclock violation with 19 seconds left, giving the Retrievers the ball. After a timeout and a foul, UMBC inbounded the ball with 12 seconds left on the clock. As time ticked down, Tillman got to the block, getting the bucket to go with just one second remaining, as UMBC took its first lead since 8-7 in the first quarter. Olivia Kulyk was unable to get a shot off against NJIT, and the Retrievers came away victorious, winning their 10th America East playoff game in program history, and first under Candice Hill. 



NOTES TO KNOW

• With the victory, UMBC improved to 16-13 on the season, giving the Retrievers their most wins in a season since the 2015-16 campaign (18-14). 
• America East Newcomer of the Year, and first-team all-conference choice, Tillman, scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, giving her back-to-back double-doubles and seven of them on the season. Tillman has scored 10 or more points in 22 straight games, upping her scoring average from 10.7 on November 28 to 15.3. It was her sixth 20-plus-point performance and first since January 17. With her 21 points, Tillman moved up four spots to 16th on the single-season scoring list with 444 points. 
• The game-winner was Tillman's third in the last six seconds this season and second against NJIT. 
• Yánez, A. Williams, and Slomack all scored 12 points for the Retrievers. After four double-digit scoring efforts in the first 25 games, Yánez has scored 10 or more points in four straight games. For Williams, it was her fifth game this season in double figures, and first since January 24. Slomack's 12 points were her second-most in a game this season, and her first double-digit output since November. 
• UMBC improves to 7-6 all-time against NJIT and 2-0 in the America East Quarterfinals. The Retrievers also defeated the Highlanders in the 2022-23 playoffs.