Game 15	NJIT (4-10, 1-0 ASUN; 4-26, 2-12 ASUN in 2017-18 at North Alabama (10-2, 1-1 ASUN; 24-5, 17-3 GSC)
Date | Time	Saturday, January 12, 2018 | 1pm (CT)
Location | Arena	Florence, AL | Flowers Hall
Live Video	ESPN+
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
All-time series	First all-time meeting
Game Notes	NJIT Notes  (PDF) | North Alabama Notes (PDF)

NEWARK, NJ—Coming off its first ASUN Conference win of the season, NJIT will make it first ASUN road trip to North Alabama on Saturday, January 12.  Tip-off is set for 1pm (CT) at Flowers Hall.

As part of the doubleheader with the NJIT men, the Highlanders will take on North Alabama at 3:30pm (CT) at Flowers Hall on ESPN+.

Graduate student Kelly Guarino set the NJIT all-time record for three-pointers (224), netting 18 points in the Highlanders 66-60 victory over visiting Kennesaw State to open ASUN Conference action.

The win for the Highlanders over Kennesaw State marks the first all-time win for NJIT, since joining the ASUN Conference in 2015-16.

Guarino, surpassed the old mark (222) at the 6:08 mark in the third quarter, sinking the trey from the wing in front of the Highlander bench.  The ASUN leader in three-pointers made this season (44), scored a team-high 18 points, finishing 4-of-10 from three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity strip.

Junior forward Danielle Tunstall scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds while sophomore forward Dez Allen added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench for NJIT in 18 minutes of action.

Graduate student Tatianna Torres added eight points and became NJIT's all-time steals leader with 137.

Watch Game Live on ESPN+
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

A simple way to find ESPN+ is on NJIT's official athletics website, www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page under the headlines section, an upcoming events calendar lists scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the left of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN+ portal where you can access the desired program.

All-Time Series
This will be the first all-time meeting between the two teams.  The Lions will travel to Newark on January 27 with tip-off set for 1pm.

A Look at the Highlanders
The Highlanders, who begin a new era under first-year head coach Mike Lane, are 4-10 overall, 1-0 in the ASUN. Lane comes to NJIT after spending six seasons at Bucknell University as the top assistant coach, where he helped guide the Bison to a program-best 27-6 mark, Patriot League title and conference championship while earning a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2017.

NJIT picked up wins against Western Carolina, 79-71, LIU Brooklyn, 72-51, Colgate, 71-53 and most recently Kennesaw State.  NJIT held a two-game win streak on the road (Dec. 9 - Dec. 14) with victories at LIU and Colgate.

Guarino, who ranks sixth in the ASUN in points-per-game (18.0), tops the conference in three-pointers made (44) and free throw percentage (83.7) while sitting in third in three-point percentage (42.3).  She has scored in double-figures in the last eight-out-of-nine games, including two 20+ performances.

Junior forward Danielle Tunstall ranks second in the ASUN in rebounding (8.1rpg) has combined for 49 rebounds in the last five contests, posting double-digit rebounds in the last three-out-of-four games.  Tunstall is coming off a 17-point performance against the Owls from Kennesaw State.

Sophomore guard Ellyn Stoll is averaging just below 10.0ppg and leads the team in assists (37) and ranks second in steals (13).  Her 20 three-point field goals made also ranks second behind Guarino.

Scouting North Alabama Lions
UNA, which accepted an invitation into the ASUN Conference in December 2016, begins its four-year transitional period into Division I, starting in the Fall of 2018.

A member of NCAA Division II since it was formed in1972, the Lions were members of the Gulf South Conference.  Last season, the Lions reached the opening round of the NCAA South Region Women's Basketball Tournament and registered a program-best 24 wins.

North Alabama opened the 2018 season winners of its first seven games, including a 74-70 victory at Vanderbilt, for the programs first Division I victory.  The seven-game win streak was halted on December 2 at Xavier, 94-81.

The Lions, winners of its last three-out-of-four contests, are coming off its first ASUN loss against defending ASUN champion and preseason favorite, Florida Gulf Coast, 68-52.  North Alabama registered its first league victory at North Florida, 70-64, on January 5.

Against FGCU, Ivy Wallen and Brittany Panetti scored 14 points each to lead the Lions. Kenysha Coulson reached double figures with 11 points.

Through 12 games, the Lions are led by four double-figure scorers paced by Panetti, the ASUN scoring leader at 16.8ppg.  Panetti leads the conference in field goal percentage at 69.0 percent. 

Sisters Emma and Ivy Wallen are averaging 13.5ppg and 12.3ppg respectively while Coulson rounds out the scoring with 10.6ppg and tops the team in rebounding at 6.7rpg.  Darby Madden is the ASUN leader in three-point percentage at 48.4, shooting 15-for-31.

ASUN Preseason Coaches' Poll
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 2018-19. The Eagles garnered eight first-place votes among the head coaches in the league, while also being selected first in the media poll.

FGCU totaled 80 points in the coaches' poll to lead the way, while newcomer Liberty earned the final first-place vote and finished second place with 71 points.

Stetson came in third with 63 points while the Dolphins finished 10 points behind the Hatters in the coaches' poll with 53 points.

Kennesaw State and North Florida were picked fifth and sixth, respectively, while Lipscomb, North Alabama and NJIT rounded out the coaches' poll selections.

Next Up
NJIT will host its annual Education Day on January 15 at 11:30am when the Highlanders welcome Lipscomb to NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.  The all-time series is tied at 3-3.