Women's Basketball | 11/20/2014 12:19:00 PM

NJIT, which played its first three games on the road, will open the home portion of their schedule on Friday at 7pm against Lehigh of the Patriot League in the Fleisher Athletic Center.

The Highlanders, which lost its first two contests of the season by five points (at UNH 61-56; at Dartmouth 68-63 (OT), got into the win column on Wednesday night behind Nicole Maticka's double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, leading four double-figure scorers for visiting NJIT, as the Highlanders defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 68-64.

Sophomore Leah Horton paces the Highlanders in scoring and rebounding in her first season as a Highlander after transferring from Temple in 2013-14.  The 6-foot-1 forward is averaging 12.7ppg and 8.3rpg.

Senior guards Martina Matejcikova and Alyssa Albanese are averaging 11.3ppg and 11.0ppg.  Albanese has dished out 15 assists in the first three contests for a career total of 249 (ranks second in NJIT D1 record book) and third on the team with 6.3rpg.  Center Nicole Maticka ranks second on the team with 7.0rpg.

NJIT looks for their first all-time win against Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks holding an 8-0 mark over the Highlanders.  Last season at Lehigh, Sara Williams knocked down a three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining, breaking a 72 tie as the Mountain Hawks slipped by visiting NJIT, 77-72.

Lehigh enters Friday's game with a 2-0 record for the second straight year and just second time since the 1999-00 season with victories over Monmouth securing an 82-70 season opener for head coach Sue Troyan's 300th career win and 77-53 home victory over visiting East Stroudsburg led by a trio of 17-point performances from Kerry Kinek, Elizabeth Sharlow and Lexi Martins.

Lehigh finished the 2013-14 season with a 13-18 overall mark and 5-13 in the Patriot League.  The Mountain Hawks captured a 59-49 win over Colgate in the opening round of the tournament before falling to top-seeded Navy

Sue Troyan, who enters her 20th season at the helm, returns 10 upperclassmen, four starters and welcomes four newcomers for the 2014-15 campaign.

Junior forward Kerry Kinek, a two-time all-Patriot League honoree, has led the Mountain Hawks in scoring and rebounds in the each of the last two seasons finishing her sophomore campaign with an average of 15.3ppg and 7.4rpg.  This season, Kinek, one of five double-figure scorers for the Mountain Hawks, is second on the team in scoring with 14.5ppg and third in rebounding at 6.5rpg.

Sophomore forward Lexi Martins is averaging a double-double with 16ppg and 11rpg to lead the Mountain Hawks.  Junior forward Elizabeth Sharlow is third in scoring with 13ppg and second in rebounds at 8.0 followed by guards Katie O'Reilly and Quinci Mann, who are averaging 10.5 and 10.0 points respectively.

This season, the Mountain Hawks were predicted to finish fifth (out of 10 teams) in the 2014-15 Preseason Patriot League Coaches Poll.

Michael Ventola will handle play-by-play in conjunction with the live streaming video feed on www.njithighlanders.com.