Game 14	Kennesaw State (4-9, 0-0 ASUN; 7-19, 3-11 ASUN in 2017-18) vs. NJIT (3-10, 0-0 ASUN; 4-26, 2-12 ASUN in 2017-18
Date | Time	Saturday, January 5, 2018 | 1pm
Location | Arena	Newark, NJ | Wellness and Events Center (100 Lock Street)
Live Video	ESPN+ | Michael Ventola (PBP); Dave Calloway (Color)
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
All-time series	Kennesaw State leads 7-0
Game Notes	NJIT Notes  (PDF) | KSU Notes Notes (PDF)

 
NJIT is coming off a tough home loss against America East opponent Hartford, 85-53, on December 30.

NJIT was led by graduate student Kelly Guarino's 12 points while Milena Bajic came off the bench to score 11 points in 19 minutes of action.  Graduate student Tatianna Torres just missed posting double-figures, finishing with nine points.  Junior forward Danielle Tunstall was one rebound shy her career best mark (14) rebounds.

Watch Game Live on ESPN+
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Michael Ventola, the voice of the Highlander women, will handle the play-by-play with and color analysis from Dave Calloway.

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
NJIT will look for its first all-time win against Kennesaw State on Saturday.  The Owls hold a 7-0 advantage over the Highlanders.

A Glance Inside the Highlander Squad
NJIT closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 3-10 overall record, including wins against Western Carolina, 79-71, LIU Brooklyn, 72-51, and Colgate, 71-53.  NJIT held a two-game win streak on the road (Dec. 9 - Dec. 14) with victories at LIU and Colgate.

The Highlanders begin a new era under first-year head coach Mike Lane.  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.

Guarino, who netted a trio of three-pointers against Hartford, became the first Highlander player to break into the ASUN Conference Top 10 in three-pointers made, draining her 220th against Hartford.  Guarino is two three-pointers shy the NJIT all-time record (222).

She ranks first in the ASUN in three-pointers made (40) and fourth in three-pointer percentage (42.6).  Her 14.0ppg ranks in the top six in the ASUN.  She has scored in double-figures in the last seven-out-of-eight games, including two 20+ performances.

Tunstall, who ranks in third in the ASUN in rebounding (8.2rpg) has combined for 42 rebounds in the last four contests, posting double-digit rebounds in the last three-out-of-four games.

Sophomore guard Ellyn Stoll is averaging 10.2ppg, ranking first on the team in assists (34) and third in steals (13).

Torres is averaging 7.7ppg and 5.3rpg for the Highlanders.  Her 137 career steals ties the NJIT Division I record. 

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.

Scouting the Owls from Kennesaw State
After a 14-day break, Kennesaw State opens ASUN Conference action with a 4-9 overall mark, winners of its last contests against North Carolina Central, 78-54, on December 21. 

Five different Owls scored in double-figures, paced by a double-double from Simina Avram with 15 points and 10 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.

Kennesaw State is paced by a trio of double-figure scorers -- Kamiyah Street (15.5ppg), Alexis Poole (13.4ppg) and Amani Johnson (10.1ppg).  Street, an ASUN all-freshmen and second-team honoree from a season ago, ranks in the top three in scoring in the ASUN, first in steals (40) and fourth in assists (41).

Poole, an ASUN all-freshmen team honoree last season, ranks second in the league at 8.5rpg.  She has posted double-figure rebounds in seven games, including a season-best 12 rebounds against Georgia Southern and Bethune-Cookman.

Head coach Agnus Berenato is in her 32nd season as a Division I head coach and in her third year leading the Owls.  Berenato guided Kennesaw State to the ASUN Conference semifinals in 2017.

Next Up
NJIT will break for six days and make it first ASUN Conference road trip to North Alabama on Saturday, January 12 at 1pm (CT).