NJIT will play its next four contests at home, first hosting Wagner on Tuesday at 7pm at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
The Highlanders (3-4) went 1-1 in the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament defeating host FAU, 65-57, in the opening round on Friday, advancing to the championship game. In the title game, the Highlanders dropped a 60-48 decision to North Dakota State.
NJIT, 1-1 at home, fell in the 2014 home opener to Lehigh, 74-54, on November 21 but bounced back with a 57-50 overtime win against St. Francis Brooklyn, led by senior point guard
Alyssa Albanese's career-best 24 points, including a running lane jumper with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, forcing overtime, before breaking for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Highlanders are led by Albanese, who paces the Highlanders in four different categories – scoring (12.0ppg), 36 assists, 11 3-point field goals made and 9 steals. Albanese has compiled 270 career assists, five shy the NJIT Division I career mark held by Ivana Seric.
NJIT sophomore
Leah Horton is the Highlanders' second leading scorer with 10.6ppg and tops the team with 59 rebounds (8.4rpg). Center
Nicole Maticka is averaging (6.7ppg) and (5.9rpg). The senior from Bratislava, Slovakia, is four blocks shy the NJIT D1 career block shots record (179) held by
Uju Nwankwo.
In the meeting between the two teams last season, the Highlanders defeated Wagner, 58-52, in Newark, led by graduate student
Shakia Robinson with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Tuesday's game will mark the eighth all-time meeting, with the Highlanders holding a 4-3 win/loss record.
Wagner NotesWagner, a team that went 9-21 last season and made the program's first Northeast Conference Tournament berth since 2010, was picked fourth in the 2014-15 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Seahawks, which enter Tuesday's game with a 0-5 mark, opened the 2014-15 campaign at VCU followed by a game at Maryland, who reached the NCAA Final Four and combined for a 28-7 overall mark last season.
Wagner hosted Rutgers, who won the 2014 WNIT Championship in the teams' home opener and Monmouth three days later. The Seahawks are coming off a 71-49 loss at Big East member, St. John's, on November 30.
The Seahawks are led by sophomore guard Jasmine Nwajei, a 2014 NEC first-team honoree, who is averaging 16.6ppg, 16 assists and 9 steals. Nwajei was named NEC Rookie of the Year last season, reaching the 20-point plateau 12 times while leading the NEC in assists per game (5.5).
Wagner's other double-figure scorer is junior Jordyn Peck, who is averaging (10.2ppg) while shooting 72 percent (16-for-22) from the free throw line.
Senior center Ugo Nwaigwe, the NEC Defensive Player of the Year from a year ago, tops the team with (6.2rpg) and 7 blocks.
Michael Ventola will handle play-by-play in conjunction with the live streaming video feed on
www.njithighlanders.com.
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