Women's Basketball | 12/13/2017 9:00:00 AM
NJIT and Rider will meet for the third time in program history on Saturday at 1pm in the new Wellness and Events Center on the campus of NJIT.
The game is part of a doubleheader with the NJIT men, who will tip off at 4pm against the Knights from Fairleigh Dickinson.
The game can be seen on ESPN3.
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, http://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, will be on play-by-play with expert analysis from
David Gass.
All-Time Series
NJIT and Rider are playing for the 3rd time in the series history and for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. The Highlanders and the Broncs have split the first two meetings. Rider took the first-ever contest between the two, 60-50, in Newark in December of 2011 and NJIT won the last game the two played, 53-51, in Lawrenceville in November of 2012. The road team has won both meetings between the two.
Broncs Last Time Out
Mount Saint Mary's used a 23-10 third-quarter surge to take down Rider, 82-78, in Emmitsburg last Saturday. The Broncs rallied to tie the game at 70 with two and a half minutes left, but the Mountaineers outscored the guests, 12-8, down the stretch to hold on for the win. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Broncs.
Kamila Hoskova scored a career-high 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting against Mount St. Mary's. It marked the second time this season that she has topped the 20-point plateau. Hoskova has scored in double figures a team-high eight times and has led the team in scoring in five games. She has a team-best 16.6 points per game and also leads the team in rebounding with over six boards per contest.
Off the bench, freshman Jaiden Morris scored 11 and Johnson was the other Bronc in double figures with 12 points.
Stella Johnson ranks second on the team, averaging 12.8 ppg and leads the Broncs in steals at 25. Morris is the other double-figure scorer at 10.1 ppg.
MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week Honors
Rider duo senior Kamila Hoskova was named the MAAC Player of the Week and freshman Jaiden Morris was tabbed as the MAAC Rookie of the Week. Hoskova was also honored as the College Sports Madness MAAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week.
Hoskova picked up weekly accolades from the MAAC for the first time in her career, while Morris garnered rookie of the week distinction for the second time in 2017-18. The duo is the first set of teammates to sweep the MAAC weekly awards this season and the first to do so in the MAAC since a pair of Quinnipiac players in February of 2016.
MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rider was picked to finish sixth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning 68 points in the poll that was voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.
Senior guard/forward Kamila Hoskova landed on the Second Team, while sophomore Stella Johnson earned Third Team distinction.
A Look at NJIT
NJIT enters the weekend with a 1-10 overall record following a 106-42 win against Division III foe St. Joseph's Brooklyn on Monday evening.
The Highlanders snapped a 10-game skid to open the season. NJIT is 1-3 at home this season with two of the setbacks decided by seven points or fewer.
Three Highlanders are averaging double figures led by redshirt junior guard
Tatianna Torres at 12.5 points per game. Redshirt junior
Kelly Guarino, who returned back to the court for her second game of the season against St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, is averaging 11.0 ppg. Senior forward
Taj Lewis has combined for two double-doubles on the season, most recently against SJCBK (14 pts, 11 rebs). Lewis ranks third on the team in scoring (10.5 pgg) and second in rebounds (6.0 rpg).
Torres netted a career-best 27 points to go along with 16 rebounds and eight assists in the NJIT's win over St. Joseph's Brooklyn. Freshman guard
Ellyn Stoll is the team's biggest threat from three-point range, as she has knocked down 17 shots from beyond the arc.
Wellness and Events Center
NJIT celebrated a Ribbon Cutting ceremony on November 10, 2017 to open the new state-of-the-art Wellness and Events Center nicknamed the "WEC" – which will feature a 3,500-seat basketball arena and compare favorably with many Division I mid-major facilities throughout the country, allowing NJIT to continue to grow their men's and women's basketball programs.
The WEC will be three stories high and its north side will be all windows, through which natural light will flood into the building. The tall windows will overlook the new athletic field, which will open in Fall 2018.
ASUN Conference
The Highlanders, who became the eighth full member of the A-Sun effective July 1, 2015, will begin its third season in the ASUN Conference, will have 15 games, home-and-away, against the other seven conference teams, three of which played in the 2017 post-season.
NJIT was selected sixth in the 2017 Preseason ASUN Conference poll, combining for 21 points ahead of USC Upstate (19 points) and Lipscomb (14 points).
After winning last year's ASUN Conference women's basketball championship title, FGCU was picked to repeat by the league's head coaches in the 2017-18. The Eagles garnered six first-place votes among the head coaches in the league, while also being selected first in the media poll.
Next Up
NJIT will host a two-day Holiday Tournament on December 28-29 in the Wellness and Events Center. The Highlanders will host first-time opponent Long Beach State on December 28 at 5pm. Long Beach State advanced to the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, crowned Big West Champions and finished with 23 wins.
The Highlanders will either face VCU or UPenn on December 29. VCU won 16 games last season while the Quakers were crowned Ivy League champions for the second straight season and secured their third bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament in the last four years.
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!
