Kelsey Hogan Earns First Win as UNH Rallies Past NJIT, 59-53

Sunday, December 6

Durham, N.H.

1 PM

University of New Hampshire

1-3

NJIT

1-2

NJIT

New Hampshire

Photo by: Michelle Bronner

Kelsey Hogan Earns First Win as UNH Rallies Past NJIT, 59-53

12/6/2020 5:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Amanda Torres Scores Career-High 20 Points and Brooke Kane Records First Career Double-Double

New Hampshire 59, NJIT 53
Sunday, December 6
Lundholm Gym
UNH (1-3 overall, 1-1 America East) ... NJIT (1-2 overall, 1-1 America East)

WATCH VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
WATCH POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

DURHAM, N.H. – Amanda Torres (Hudson, N.H.) scored 20 points and Brooke Kane (Derry, N.H.) recorded a double-double to give head coach Kelsey Hogan her first career win as the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team rallied past NJIT, 59-53, Sunday afternoon at Lundholm Gym.

Hogan, who was named interim head coach back in April, became the seventh head coach in program history Aug. 10, 2020. UNH outscored NJIT 20-9 in the fourth quarter to improve to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in America East with Sunday's victory.

Amanda Torres equaled her career high in points (20) and pulled down career-high seven rebounds

Torres matched her career high of 20 points while Kane recorded her first career double-double with personal bests of both 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also tallied team and career highs in both assists (five) and steals (three).

Brooke Kane set career highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double double

NJIT, led by Kenna Squier and Ellyn Stoll with 12 points apiece, is now 1-2, 1-1.

UNH is scheduled to return to action Dec. 10 (6 p.m.) at home against UMass.

"It's emotional for me," Hogan said. "It really is. I feel like a broken record saying it, but this place is so near and dear to my heart... I think what makes me even more emotional is the fight that our young ladies had."

FIRST QUARTER
•       NJIT scored the first seven points of the game and led by as many as eight points, 13-4 at 6:12, before the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to close within 12-11 at 1:44.
•       Lilly Anderson made a 3-pointer and also completed a 3-point play as the Highllanders led 18-13 through 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
•       Torres opened the second-quarter scoring, but NJIT went on a 7-0 spurt to establish a double-digit lead, 25-15, at 7:21.
•       UNH inched within four points, 27-23, on Torres' layup at 3:42.
•       The teams exchanged baskets the rest of the half and the visitors took a 31-27 lead into the locker room.

THIRD QUARTER
•       Kane's layup lifted the Wildcats within 34-32 one minute into the second half, but Stoll hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-0 run that pushed the Highlanders' advantage to nine points, 41-32.
•       The Wildcats responded with their own 7-0 spurt to once again close within two points, 41-39, on Torres' 3-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock
•       Grace Plummer beat the buzzer with a 3-ball to give NJIT a 44-39 lead through 30 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
•       Adara Groman (Hopkinton, Mass.) hit her second 3-pointer of the game to trim UNH's deficit to 44-42.
•       With New Hampshire trailing 46-42, Kane's three-point play was followed by a layup from Kane to give the Wildcats their first lead, 47-46.
•       Squier answered with a layup at the other end of the court to put NJIT back in front.
•       Torres hit a jumper to put UNH ahead, 49-48, with 4:31 remaining, then neither team scored for more than three-and-a-half minutes.
•       Ivy Gogolin (Hopkinton, Mass.) ended the drought with a layup that gave the 'Cats a 51-48 lead with 51 seconds left.
•       Gogolin then stole the ball with 33 seconds to play and that led to a series of NJIT fouls that eventually sent Groman to the foul line for two shots. She made both to extend the advantage to five points, 53-48, with 28 seconds remaining.
•       Kane went 2-for-2 at the foul line (22 seconds) and Groman made one more free throw to make it a three possession game, 57-50, with 16 seconds on the clock.
•       Stoll's 3-point trimmed the margin to 57-53 with seven seconds left and Torres closed the game scoring with two more free throws.
•       New Hampshire made 5 of 12 field goals (41.7%) and 9 of 11 free throws (81.8%) in the decisive fourth quarter in comparison to NJIT'S 4-for-13 (30.8%) and 0-for-1.

UNH NOTEBOOK
•     UNH's Hogan, at age 30, is the youngest head coach in Division I.
•     Torres shot 8-for-15 from the floor, including 1 of 4 on 3's, and 3-for-4 at the foul line. She established her career high of 20 points earlier this season at Bryant University (Nov. 27).
•     Torres also pulled down seven rebounds and had three assists.
•     Kane's previous career highs were 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals -- all at Bryant.
•     Groman scored in double digits for the first time with 11 points.

Adara Groman scored six of her career-high 11 points in fourth quarter

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
•       UNH recorded a 43-33 rebounding advantage that included a 13-5 edge on the glass.
•       The Wildcats committed 12 turnovers while NJIT had 14, including five in the fourth quarter.
•       UNH was whistled for just one fourth-quarter foul and nine in the game. NJIT, forced to foul in the final minute, tallied nine of its 13 fouls in the fourth quarter.
•       New Hampshire shot 36.5% from the floor (23-63), including 26.7% on 3's (4-15). NJIT finished at 38.9% (21-54) and 29.2% (7-24).
•       UNH made 9 of 11 free throws and the Highlanders were 4-for-8 at the line.

SERIES NOTEBOOK
•       UNH and NJIT split the weekend series at Lundholm Gym and the Wildcats now lead the all-time series 4-1.
•       This was the first time these teams met as conference foes. NJIT joined America East for the 2020-21 season.

QUOTABLE
UNH head coach Kesley Hogan
On the fourth quarter
"We challenged them to be lockdown defenders, and they showed pride on the defensive end. They were gritty, they were all bought in."

On Amanda Torres
"She surprises me every single day. She is doing everything we ask of her and so much more. Some of the finishes she had today, some of the tough shots down the stretch, she hit some really, really big shots for us. She's our leader... we go as she goes."

On Brooke Kane
"This is the Brooke Kane we know, and I think with Brooke it's only going to continue to get better... a double double! To me, that's what we see every single day in practice. For her, it's confidence doing it in a game. We saw it."

Senior guard Amanda Torres
On team's defensive effort
"As our defense goes, that's how our offense goes, so that was a big emphasis in pregame, locking down on defense, and that's exactly what we did. And as we got one stop, that just fueled us to just...keep that energy going."

On young team's ability to win coming from behind
"None of the younger girls were scared to shoot their shots... everybody was just aggressive, and that's what we need. No matter freshman, senior or whatever, it's really going to help our team confidence and individual confidence for the rest of the season"