Women's Basketball Gameday Information vs. Army

Game 9	Army (7-1) at NJIT (3-5)
Date | Time	Friday, December 10 | 7pm
Location | Arena	Newark, NJ | Fleisher Athletic Center
Live Video|Audio	Highlanders Sports Network w/ Michael Ventola ($6.95) |
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
Social Media	@njithighlanders
All-time series	First-ever Meeting
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | Army Notes

NJIT will play its next three games at home on Fleisher Family Court, first hosting first-time opponent Army West Point on Friday at 7pm.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Friday night's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Army and NJIT.  The Highlanders are 4-22 all-time against Patriot League foes and 0-1 this season after a 75-47 loss vs. Lehigh on November 19.

SCOUTING NJIT
NJIT picked up its first road win of the 2015 season behind three double-figure scorers paced by junior Leah Horton's 16 points, as the visiting Highlanders defeated LIU Brooklyn, 53-44, Wednesday.
With the win, the Highlanders snapped a three-game skid, improving to 3-5 on the season. 

FLEISHER FAMILY COURT
NJIT will play the next three games at home before the Christmas break.  The Highlanders are 2-1 at home with wins against St. Joseph's Brooklyn on November 24 and College of St. Joseph (VT) four days later.  The teams' lone loss at home came against Lehigh on November 19. 

GUARINO IN THE TOP 13 IN NATION
Kelly 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.

Eight games into the 2015 season, Guarino continues to be a revelation for the young Highlanders, ranking first in the Atlantic Sun Conference, in 3-point field goals per game and eighth nationally, first in the A-Sun in 3-point field goal percentage (50.0) and tied for 13th in the nation according to NCAA Division I national statistics rankings, through games of Thursday, December 10.
 

STAT	TOTAL	NCAA	A-SUN
Three-Point FG Per Game	3.50	8	1
Three-Point FG Made	28	T-6th	1
Three-Point FG Percentage	50.0	T-13th	1

NJIT LEADERS
Points: Leah Horton (11.5 ppg); Kelly Guarino (11.3 ppg)
Rebounds: Leah Horton (7.3 rpg)
Field Goal Percentage: Kelly Guarino (.468; 29-for-62)
3-Point FG Made: Kelly Guarino (28-for-56)
Assists: Alana Dudley (38)
Steals: Leah Horton (14)

SCOUTING ARMY WEST POINT
Army (7-1) picked up its fourth straight win of the season on Tuesday defeating St. Francis Brooklyn, 74-35, led by senior guard Kelsey Minato's season-best 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting and 8-of-13 from three-point range.  Her eight three-pointers against St. Francis Brooklyn bring the 5-foot-8 guards total to 25 three-pointers made this season, ranking Minato tied for 15th in the nation.

Minato, an All-America honorable mention selection by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association a year ago, is ranked ninth in the nation averaging 23.0 ppg.  Minato, the only double-figure scorer for the Black Knights, has scored in double-digits in all 8 games this season, with a high of 30 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn.Minato is the team leader in free throw made (49), free throw percentage (.845), assists (22) and shares the honor in steals with teammate Janae McNeal (11).
 
Senior Aimee Oertner has led the Black Knights in blocked shots in each of her first three seasons.  Oertner recorded 17 blocks in her first 8 games of the season, ranking second all-time at Army. 

Army received a vote in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll after playing to a pair of come-from-behind victories last week. The Black Knights defeated Yale, 65-61, on December 3 for the first road win of the season and erased a 12-point second half deficit to post a 65-62 win over UAlbany, a team receiving four votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll on Dec. 5. Army is ranked 18th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for its performance through the first eight games of the year. Both weekly polls were announced on Dec. 8.  The Black Knights lone loss of the season came against Duke on November 22, a team ranked 13^th in the AP Poll and 11^th in the Coaches Poll. 

Dave Magarity, in his 10^th season as head coach at Army, led the Black Knights to an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 2014-15, following berths in the NCAA Tournament and WNIT in 2014 and 2013.  Army concluded the season with a 23-8 overall mark, its third consecutive 20-win season. 

Magarity's daughter, Maureen, is in her fifth season as head coach at University of New Hampshire.  Prior to becoming the sixth coach at New Hampshire in program history, Maureen served a four-year stint under father, Dave, where she started as assistant coach in 2006-07 and was elevated to associate head coach in 2009.

The Black Knights were selected as the Patriot League's preseason favorite for the second consecutive year and three-time All-Patriot League first-team selection, senior Kelsey Minato was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year.  Minato finished her junior campaign with a program-record 22.3 points per game and ranked eighth nationally in scoring at season's end.

ARMY WEST POINT LEADERS
Points: Kelsey Minato (23.0 ppg); 9^th in the nation
Rebounds: Aimee Oertner (7.8 rpg)
Field Goal Percentage: Janae McNeal (.538; 21-for-39)
3-Point FG Made: Kelsey Minato (25); tied for 15^th in the nation
Assists: Kelsey Minato (22)
Steals: Kelsey Minato (11); Janae McNeal (11)