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NEWARK, NJ—The NJIT women's basketball team will look to bounce back from two tight opening season road defeats when the Highlanders host University of New Hampshire on Wednesday.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

In pre-game ceremonies, a banner will be unveiled recognizing the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament Champions.  NJIT recorded 16 wins last season, the highest win total in the Division I era capped by a 52-42 victory over No. 1 seeded Utah Valley in the Great West Conference finals.  The 2012-13 Highlanders become the first team to win a conference tournament title in the history of women's basketball (play began in 1986-87).

Wednesday's contest will mark the second meeting between the two teams, with New Hampshire holding a 1-0 record over the Highlanders with a 79-71 victory in the consolation game at the Cyclone Challenge hosted by Iowa State on December 30, 2011.

NJIT graduated top scorer/rebounder Rayven Johnson who averaged (15.9) and rebounding (10.5) while reaching double-figure scoring in 24 out of 31 games and combining for 15 double-doubles.   Johnson is now playing professionally in Germany with TK Hannover.

NJIT is competing this season as a Division I Independent, after competing in the Great West Conference for the previous four years (2009-10 first season).

The Highlanders are coming off a tough 77-72 road loss at Lehigh Monday evening.  NJIT, which led by as many as 10 in the 2nd half, 53-43, saw the game slip away as the Mountain Hawks went on a 15-5 run locking the game at 58 with less than 8-minutes to play.  The game saw three more ties and 11 lead changes, the final tie at 72 at the two-minute mark.  Lehigh's Sarah Williams hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds to put the Mountain Hawks ahead for good.

NJIT is paced by junior Martina Matejcikova averaging 16.5ppg in the opening two contests.  Matejcikova set a career-high in the season-opener on November 8 at Stony Brook recording 16 points and three days later set a new-mark scoring 17 points at Lehigh.

The 5-foot-11 guard from Banska Bystrica, Slovakia is shooting 50 percent from behind the arc (6-12) and 57 percent from the field (12-21) while ranking second on the team with 8 assists.

NJIT's other double-figure scorer is graduate student Shakia Robinson averaging 14.5ppg.  Robinson, a 6-foot-1 post player from North Wales, Pennsylvania enrolled in NJIT's School of Management Graduate Program and has one year of basketball eligibility remaining after playing three seasons at UMass. 

Senior forward Uju Nwanwko leads the Highlanders on the glass with 21 rebounds (10.5rpg) while point guard Alyssa Albanese paces NJIT with 11 assists.  Albanese, a junior from Fort Washington, MD, dished out a career-high 8 assists in the Highlanders 77-72 loss at Lehigh on Monday.

The University of New Hampshire women's basketball team (1-0) travels for its first away game, visiting the NJIT on Wednesday after a 77-30 victory at home in the season opener against Worcester State.  Junior forward Corinne Coia made her UNH debut to record 16 points on 8-of-11 from the field.

UNH defeated Worcester state by a margin of 47 points. The last time New Hampshire topped an opponent by 40 points or more dates back to Jan. 21, 1984, trumping Concordia on the road 91-45.

The Wildcats, ranked fourth in the 2013-14 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, finished the 2012-13 season with a 12-18 overall mark, 6-10 in conference play.  UNH advanced to the America East semifinals, for the first-time since 2005, falling to UAlbany, who went on to win the tournament for the third consecutive year.

UNH returns three of its five starters including two that appeared in all 30 games while welcoming back two of its top four scorers and rebounders.  Two Wildcats were lost to graduation — Morgan Frame (10.8ppg, 7.0rpg) and Cari Reed (12.4ppg).  Both seniors earned America East 2nd team honors.

Senior Kelsey Hogan (9.8ppg in 12-13) the leading returner for the Wildcats earned America East Preseason All-Conference Honors.

Fans can follow all the action live on www.njithighlanders.com, which will carry a live video stream and webcast play-by-play and commentary from Michael Ventola, as well as an in-game real-time stat feed. Audio coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with tip off set for 7 p.m.