NEWARK, NJ—NJIT will welcome Columbia on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Fleisher Athletic Center on '
Education Day' as part of a doubleheader with the Highlanders' men's program hosting Brown in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m.
With on win on Wednesday …
--NJIT will have won four straight (last time Highlanders won four straight; 2012-13 w/ wins at Rider and three straight at home vs. Centenary (NJ), Rutgers-Newark, St. Francis Brooklyn)
--NJIT will have won the last five-out-six contests
--NJIT will finish above .500 concluding non-conference play (7-7 entering game vs. Columbia)
--Will open the New Year with a win (last time 2014-15 at Wofford)
--Will have won three straight on Fleisher Family Court
The game will be shown live
on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT home basketball games can be seen on ESPN3).
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page NJIT TV section, click Upcoming Events for a list of scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the right of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN3 portal where you can access the desired program.
Michael Ventola, the voice of the Highlanders, is on play-by-play with expert analysis from
David Gass.
Starting in January, every NJIT game played in the ASUN Conference, home and away, throughout the regular season and into the ASUN postseason tournament will be covered on ESPN3.
EDUCATION DAY
NJIT Athletics invites schools to participate in a fun and Educational Day filled with basketball and learning. Each school will be given a tour of the NJIT campus, including a 10-minute lecture from special departments teaching students about college life.
ALL-TIME SERIES
NJIT looks for its first victory over Ivy League opponent Columbia. Columbia leads the all-time series 3-0. The Lions defeated the Highlanders last season in New York, 72-52, on January 11, 2016.
A LOOK AT COLUMBIA
Columbia enters Wednesday's contest with a 9-3 overall mark. The Lions held a seven-game win streak, which was snapped at Long Beach State on December 31. The seven consecutive wins is tied for the longest in the program's Division I era and tied for programs best 12-game start in program history with the 1984-85 team. The loss was Columbia's first since November 22 at Stony Brook (55-53).
In the Lions' 73-60 loss at Long Beach State, junior guard Camille Zimmerman led Columbia with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and added eight rebounds.
Zimmerman, an all-Ivy League second-team selection last season, leads the Lions in scoring (20.5 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg) while sharing the team-lead with 12 three-pointers made. Zimmerman has scored in double-digits in all 12 games, including eight 20-plus game performances. Her streak (five games) of 20+ points was snapped at Long Beach State.
Tori Oliver, the Lions senior forward, is second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) and third in rebounding at 6.3 rpg.
Columbia ranks No. 4 in the NCAA (as of January 3) in rebound margin (+13.7). As a team, the Lions are shooting 40 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free throw line.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR TOP 25
Columbia is receiving votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com mid-major top 25 poll as of December 27, 2016.
HEAD COACH MEGAN GRIFFITH
Megan Griffith, which enters her first season as head coach at Columbia, is the third-youngest active head coach in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball. Griffith was inducted to the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in October. She is the program's single-season assists leader (148, 2005-06), fifth in career assists (373) and one of 10 Lions in program history to score more than 1,000 career points.
A LOOK AT NJIT
NJIT, which has won four straight, enters Wednesday's game with a 7-7 record. The Highlanders, will conclude non-conference play against Columbia, look to finish above .500.
The Highlanders, winners of the last five-out-six contests, are coming off a 57-42 victory at Chicago State paced by redshirt sophomore
Tatianna Torres game-high 18 points. In the victory, head coach
Steve Lanpher recorded his 200th career coaching win.
Senior guard
Alana Dudley paces the Highlanders averaging 11.3 ppg, 55 assists (3.9 apg) and 24 steals (1.7 spg). Dudley has recorded at least one steal or assist in all 14 contests, including a personal-best and NJIT Division I program record 10 assists at Delaware State on December 11.
The other double-figure scorer for NJIT is senior forward
Leah Horton at 10.8 ppg.
Torres, who is averaging 8.8 ppg on the season, has netted double-digit performances in the last three games, including a personal-best 23 points against Howard. In the last three, Torres is averaging 17.3 with 15 assists, 13 steals while shooting 60 percent from the field.
Freshman forward
Danielle Tunstall tops the team in rebounds with 6.9 rpg and is shooting 44 percent from the field (33-for-75).
NEXT ACTION
The ASUN schedule begins for NJIT on Saturday, January 7, in Spartanburg, South Carolina against USC Upstate. Tip is slated for 4:30 p.m.
The Highlanders will play their final 14 games in the ASUN Conference.
