DeLand, Fla. -- Brianti Saunders scored 13 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as Stetson rallied for a 60-55 victory over Atlantic Sun Conference newcomer NJIT Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.
Saunders and Sarah Sagerer each hit clutch 3-pointers during a decisive fourth quarter run as the Hatters (10-6, 1-1 A-Sun) picked up their first conference win of the season.
“It wasn't real pretty on either end,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. “I thought we made some plays when we needed to. I thought Bri hit a huge shot to give us a five-point lead."
Once again, Stetson's offense struggled to get going in the second half. The Hatters shot just 2-of-13 from the floor in the third quarter as NJIT turned a 31-22 halftime deficit into a 41-39 fourth quarter lead.
“The third quarter hurt us, mainly offensively,” Bria said. “I thought we took good shots, we got what we wanted, but we just didn't put them in. We have to find some ways to score some points and put the ball in the basket right there.”
The Highlanders (3-14, 0-2) extended their lead to 43-39 before Stetson rallied. Myka Johnson-Matthews tied the game at 45 with a basket at the 7-minute mark, and Saunders followed with a pair of free throws to give Stetson a two-point lead. Sagerer then drained a 3-pointer out of the right corner to give Stetson 50-45 advantage. Saunders would later hit another 3 from the top of the key with 2:56 to play.
"We have had a hard time overcoming the third quarter,” Saunders said. “When teams make runs, we can't give up then. We knew we had to be patient and let the offense come to us, and we would be okay."
Stetson then hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.
“We did a really good job of being more aggressive in the fourth quarter and getting to the line,” Bria said.
For the game, Stetson made 22-of-26 free throw attempts (85 percent). Saunders was also a perfect 10-for-10 from the line, all coming in the fourth quarter.
Both teams shot 33 percent from the floor, but the Hatters held a 38-30 advantage on the glass. Johnson-Matthews finished with eight points, while Aisha Turner and McKenna Beach each chipped in seven for the Hatters.
Alana Dudley led the Highlanders with 16 points.
Stetson will host USC Upstate at 7 p.m. Monday night.
Notes: The win was the 294th career victory for Lynn Bria ... The Hatters improved to 7-1 at home this year and 64-7 in their last 71 home games ... Stetson now has three fourth quarter comebacks this year (EIU, UNCW, NJIT) ... Brianti Saunders has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season. It was her fifth game with 20 or more points. She now leads the Atlantic Sun in scoring (19.1) ... Sarah Sagerer gave a solid 30 minutes off the bench ... The Hatters will likely improve on their national free throw shooting rank, which was 22nd in the country entering the game ... It was the first-ever meeting between Stetson and NJIT.
