NJIT will look for its first all-time win against Lehigh on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena. Tip is set for 7pm in Bethlehem, PA.
NJIT vs. Lehigh All-Time Series
Lehigh holds a perfect record against the Highlanders in 10 tries. The first meeting between the two schools came in 2006-07, the first season competing against a Division I schedule for the Highlanders. Last season, the Mountains Hawks defeated NJIT, 75-47, in Newark.
The Highlanders (3-3) are coming off a 50-48 victory against LIU Brooklyn in the TD Bank Classic hosted by Vermont, behind freshman
Tracey Brereton's career-best 10 points in 11 minutes of action off the bench. Brereton put the Highlanders ahead for good with a bucket with 1:01 remaining in the game and scored the final eight points of the game for NJIT.
NJIT finished 1-1 at the TD Bank Classic, falling in the opening round game to host Vermont, 64-42.
Michael Ventola, the voice of the Highlanders, will be on the call beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed for free at www.njithighlanders.com. The game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network free of charge with no account needed with Matt Markus on the call.
A Look at Lehigh (4-3)
After making a run to the Patriot League Championship game a season ago, Lehigh's 2016-17 roster features 10 returnees, including seven letterwinners from last season and five newcomers.
Junior guard Quinci Mann, a preseason all-Patriot League honoree, paces the Mountain Hawks, averaging 18.7 ppg, a team-best 15 three-pointers and an 88.4 free throw percentage (38-43). Mann has scored in double-figures in six of the teams seven contests, including five 20-plus games.
Lehigh enters Wednesday with a 4-3 overall mark, having dropped its previous two games in the Christmas City Classic hosted by the Mountain Hawks, against Norfolk State (81-57) and Monmouth (73-62). Prior to the Christmas City Classic, Lehigh won its first four of five games in 2016.
Freshman Genea Grundhoffer is the Mountain Hawks other double-figure scorer, averaging 12.1 ppg. The 6-foot-1 forward, has scored in double-digits in four games, with a career-best and first career double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds against Sacred Heart. Grundhoffer sits atop the team with 49 rebounds (7.0 rpg).
Hannah Hedstrom, the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard, leads the team in assists (21) and steals (10). Hedstrom has dished out at least one assist in seven games, including a personal-best nine against Delaware State.
Patriot League Preseason Poll
Lehigh, which finished with a 18-13 record in 2015-16, earning the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, after posting a 10-8 record in conference play, has been picked to finish second in the preseason poll.
Mann was one of five players named to the preseason all-league team. Last season, Mann averaged 13.3 ppg and sank a team-best 58 three-pointers. As a freshman, Mann was named to the Patriot League all-Rookie team (2014-15).
A Look at NJIT (3-3)
The Highlanders, on a stretch of four games away from Newark, got back into the win column with a 50-48 victory against LIU Brooklyn after, dropping its previous three contests.
The Highlanders are led by two players averaging double-figure totals – seniors
Alana Dudley (12.3 ppg) and
Leah Horton (11.7 ppg).
Dudley has scored in double-digits in five of the Highlanders six games, with a high of 20 in the season-opener against Wagner. She has at least one assist the first six games.
Horton, who ranks second on the team in scoring, has recorded double-digit scoring totals in four of NJIT's six contests and is shooting 50 percent from the field (30-60).
Freshman forward
Danielle Tunstall, who started off the season with back-to-back double-doubles, paces the Highlanders with 42 total rebounds (7.0 rpg) while averaging 7.0 ppg, which ranks the freshman third on the team.
Redshirt freshman
Jillian Libby is second on the team averaging 6.7 rpg. Libby has recorded at least five rebounds in each of the first six games, with a career-best eight in the home opener vs. Wagner.
Sophomore
Jordan Ireland paces the Highlanders from behind the arc with nine total treys. Ireland is coming off a personal-best nine points vs. LIU.
Next Time Out
The month of December will begin in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when the Highlanders visit Harvard on December 4, with tip set for 12Noon. The Crimson finished with an even 14-14 record and advanced to the first round of the WNIT last season. Harvard leads the all-time series, 4-0.
Keeping It Social
Keep up with the latest news about NJIT Highlanders by liking the Highlanders 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 and SnapChat!
