Women's Basketball Gameday Information at Wagner
NJIT will play the remainder of its schedule against NCAA Division I opponents, beginning with a game Wednesday at 5 pm on Staten Island, NY, at Wagner.
LAST TIME OUTRedshirt freshman
Kelly Guarino made four of her team-leading seven 3-point baskets in the second half and NJIT, ahead by two at halftime, pulled away for a 71-50 women's basketball win over visiting College of St. Joseph Saturday afternoon in the Fleisher Athletic Center.
Guarino, who sustained three torn anterior cruciate ligament injuries while in high school, did not compete for NJIT in 2014-15, when, as a freshman, she spent the year rehabbing from her latest surgery.
Five games into her college playing career, Guarino has taken over the team scoring lead on the Highlanders, upping her rookie points per game average to 10.2
She struggled with 2-for-9 combined shooting from the field in her first two college games, but she broke through with 17 points in a loss at undefeated Marshall on November 22, making 5-of-10 tries from distance. Two games later, on Saturday afternoon, she topped that with 7-for-8 shooting from downtown (7-for-9 overall) and a team-leading 21 points for NJIT (2-3) against St. Joe's, a small-college program from Rutland, VT.
Guarino's seven 3-pointers were two short of the program record nine, set in January 2011 by Rayven Johnson (Class of 2013) Guarino is now 16-for-30 (53 percent) from downtown in five games this season.
She was the only double-figure Saturday scorer for the Highlanders, who got 8 points each from
Camerin Spahn and
Alana Dudley and Dudley was credited with a game-best 8 assists.
Leah Horton scored 7 points and led the Highlanders with 10 rebounds, while
Kayla Diaz and
Bianca Picard each scored six, with Picard's points coming on 2-for-3 shooting on 3-point tries. As a team, NJIT shot a season-best 13-for-26 on threes.
NJIT LEADERSPoints: Kelly Guarino (10.2 ppg); career-high 21 points vs. College of St. Joseph (VT)—11.28.15; Guarino made four of her team-leading seven 3-point baskets. The 7 3-pointers were two short of the program record nine
Rebounds: Leah Horton (7.6 rpg)
Field Goal Percentage: Kelly Guarino (.471; 16-for-34)
Three-Point Field Goals Made: Kelly Guarino (16-for-30)
Assists: Alana Dudley (24); dished out career-high 8 assists vs. College of St. Joseph (VT)—11.28.15
Steals: Leah Horton (8)
THE SERIESNJIT leads the all-time series against Wagner, 5-3, with wins in the last three meetings— 60-54 in Newark (12.2.14), 58-52 in Newark (12.30.13), 68-65 in Newark (11.19.11). The last three contests were decided by 7 or less points.
LISTEN LIVEMichael Ventola will handle play-by-play on www.njithighlanders.com beginning at 4:45pm.
KEEPING ITS SOCIALKeep up with the latest news about NJIT Highlanders by liking the team's official Facebook page: NJIT Highlanders Athletics. For live in-game updates and news, follow @NJITHighlanders on Twitter. Want to see photos and behind-the-scenes action? Give @NJITHighlanders a follow on Instagram.
ABOUT WAGNERWagner returns its top three leading scorers, and all five starters, from its 2014-15 squad. Top returnee, junior guard Jasmine Nwajei, put together a strong sophomore season finishing ranked second in the nation among Division I players at (24.8 ppg) and sixth in steals (3.28 spg). A first-team All-Northeast Conference and Third-Team All-Met honoree, Nwajei, was featured in the November 2015 Slam Magazine. She scored a single-season school-record 718 points, which pushed her past the 1,000-point mark, becoming the first sophomore in school history to reach such a feat (1,235 career points). In July, she was a member of Team USA at the 2015 R. William Jones Cup that competed in Taipei, Taiwan.
Guard Jordyn Peck returns for her senior year after averaging 12.0 points per game while topping the 1,000-point mark a year ago. Another sharp-shooting guard, Lyndsay Rowe, the team's top returning three-point shooter (.402) and third-leading scorer (7.2 ppg), is back for her junior year.
The Seahawks added a pair of highly-rated newcomers in 5-9 guard Alexis Smith, a transfer from the University of Illinois, who will compete for the Seahawks as a fifth-year senior in 2015-2016, along with 5-8 freshman guard/forward Julia McClure. Smith was ranked as the No.22 point guard in the nation coming out of St. John the Baptist HS in 2011 by ESPN HoopGurlz before going on to play 77 games at Illinois, including 44 starts along the way. As a junior in 2013-14, Smith averaged 7.0 points, 2.8assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in 26.8 minutes per game.
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLLWagner, 7-22, 5-13 in NEC a year ago, was selected sixth out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches poll. Nwajei, the Seahawks top returnee was picked to the Preseason All-NEC team.
SEAHAWKS FIRST 4 GAMESThe Seahawks faced Pittsburgh, a squad that finished with a 20-12 record a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, dropped its 2015-16 opener, 67-41. Wagner dropped a 71-57 decision to Old Dominion in the second contest of the year, to a squad that is coming off a 20-12 season, including an 11-7 mark in Conference USA. The Seahawks visited Big 10 power #4/#14 Ohio State, which featured the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 leading scorers from a year ago. The Buckeye went on to win 106-47. Wagner welcomed University of Mississippi on November 29, in the Seahawks 2015 home opener at the Spiro Sports Center. Ole Miss, a team that finished 19-14 last season, defeated the Seahawks, 86-49.
WAGNER LEADERSPoints: Jasmine Nwajei (16.3 ppg)—scored in double-figures in 3-out-of-4 games (two 20-point performances)
Rebounds: Sofia Roma (7.5 rpg)
Field Goal Percentage: Jackie Dluhi (.476—10-for-21)
Three-Point Field Goals Made: Jordyn Peck (8)
Assists: Jasmine Nwajei (12)
Steals: Jasmine Nwajei (7)
