NJIT (9-13, 2-5 ASUN) looks for its first regular season sweep at Lipscomb (5-17, 2-5) on Saturday when the Highlanders visit the Lady Bisons at Allen Arena. Tip is set for 1:30 p.m. (CT).
With a win on Saturday …
--NJIT will pick up its first ASUN road victory on the season
--NJIT will sweep the regular season series vs. Lipscomb; NJIT won 76-68 in Newark on January 28
--NJIT will record its third victory of the season in ASUN Conference action
WATCH LIVE ON ESPN3
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.
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.
ALL TIME SERIES
The schools will meet for the fourth time on Saturday with the Highlanders, leading the series, 2-1. In the last meeting between the two teams on January 28 in Newark, the Highlanders picked up a 76-68 victory paced by a season-best performance from
Alana Dudley (23 points), leading four double-figure scorers in the win.
The Highlanders picked up its first ASUN Conference program victory in 2015-16, on February 4, 2016, 61-51, in Newark, paced by
Leah Horton's program-record 20 rebounds, who, along with
Kelly Guarino scored a team-leading 15 points in NJIT's first all-time win in ASUN action. The Lady Bisons notched a 63-49 victory in Nashville on February 10, which snapped its 17-game losing streak, led by senior Ashley Southern's 18 points and nine rebounds.
A LOOK AT LIPSCOMB
Lipscomb, who is coming off an 84-77 home victory over USC Upstate on Thursday, paced by three double-figure scorers and nearly a triple double by junior point guard Loren Cagle.
Cagle filled out the stat sheet with a complete performance, scoring nine points, a career-best 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Junior Riley Northway led the Lady Bisons with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field while Alex Banks, the team's leading scorer, notched her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Lipscomb and NJIT both have defeated North Florida this season. Lipscomb's Loren Cagle scored the game-winning layup with :02 second remaining to break a 58-58 tie and went on to win, 60-58, while for the Highlanders, NJIT senior
Alana Dudley hit the game-winning shot with :03 seconds on the clock and went on to win 64-62 over the Ospreys.
Banks has been the Lady Bisons' leading scorer (11.7 ppg) and rebounder at (5.9 rpg) this season.
Cagle, the Lady Bisons' point guard, was named to the preseason watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is handed out each season to the best point guard in the nation. She was one of 20 student-athletes to earn the recognition and one of only four players from a mid-major program on the list. She is averaging 8.2 points and her 122 assists (5.5 apg) ranks first in the ASUN.
Three-point threat Meredith Lovelady sits atop the team with 42 three-pointers made, averaging 7.4 ppg followed by Cagle, connecting on 17 from behind the arc.
A LOOK AT NJIT
The Highlanders are coming off a tough 75-64 loss at Kennesaw State on Thursday evening, after holding a one-point advantage, heading into the fourth quarter. The Owls used an early 15-2 spurt to extend its lead while pouring in 32 fourth quarter points to secure the win.
NJIT's redshirt sophomore
Kelly Guarino led the way, netting a season-best 20 points, including six three-pointers (one shy her career-best 7 at Virginia on December 5, 2015).
Guarino, who has connected on 40 three-pointers on the season and is shooting 33 percent from behind the arc, ranks fourth in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.1). NJIT connected on a season-best 10 three pointers against Kennesaw State. It's the first time they achieved the mark against an ASUN opponent, and the first overall since Nov. 28, 2015 when they had 13.
Senior guard
Alana Dudley netted 12 points and dished out three assists in the road loss at Kennesaw State. Dudley paces the Highlanders averaging double-figures at 12.3 ppg, including 16 double-digit games. She has recorded at least one assist in 21-out-of-22 games this season while notching double-digit scoring in the last eight games for NJIT. She has dished out 78 assists and her 256 career assists ranks third all-time in NJIT's Division I era.
Forward
Leah Horton notched her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Highlanders. On the season, she is averaging 9.9 ppg and ranks second with 5.6 rpg. Freshman forward
Danielle Tunstall sits atop the team, averaging 5.9 rpg.
Redshirt sophomore
Tatianna Torres is the Highlanders other double-figure scorer, averaging 10.1 ppg while, leading the ASUN in steals with 54. Torres had a seven-game stretch of scoring in double-figures, which was halted at FGCU on January 21. Torres scored 17 points in the Highlanders win over Lipscomb in Newark on January 28. She has at least one steal in 16 of NJIT's 22 games.
NEXT ACTION
NJIT will return home for a mid-week game, hosting Kennesaw State in the Fleisher Athletic Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3. In the first meeting at Kennesaw State, the Owls used a 15-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter and combined for 30 points, securing a 75-64 victory.
