Game 19	vs. North Alabama (14-2, 5-1 ASUN; 24-5, 17-3 GSC in 2017-18)
Date | Time	Sunday, January 27, 2019 | 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	North Alabama leads 1-0
Game Notes	NJIT Notes (PDF) | UNA Notes (PDF)

NEWARK, NJ—NJIT (5-13, 2-3 ASUN) will host North Alabama (14-2, 5-1 ASUN) for the second time this season on Sunday inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1pm on ESPN+.

As part of a doubleheader with the NJIT men, the Highlanders will host the Lions from North Alabama at 4pm on ESPN+.

NJIT will begin a two-game homestead on Sunday, hosting the Lions and welcoming first-place FGCU on Tuesday at 7pm before hitting the road for three consecutive in the ASUN.

The Highlanders are coming off a 74-48 road loss at Stetson.  Danielle Tunstall, the only Highlander to reach double-figures, recorded her sixth double-double of the season – 14 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

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
North Alabama leads the all-time series, 1-0.  The Lions defeated NJIT, 72-60, on January 12 in Florence, Alabama. 

This will mark the second time the Lions will play inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center as North Alabama participated in NJIT's Thanksgiving Classic but did not face the Highlanders.  The Lions took home two victories vs. Western Carolina and Southeast Missouri State.

A Look at the Highlanders
NJIT enters Sunday's contest with a 5-13 overall mark, 2-3 in the ASUN.  The five wins match the win-out totals from a season ago.  At home this season, NJIT holds a 3-5 record, which also matches the win total from last season. Two of the Highlander victories have come in ASUN play against Kennesaw State and Lipscomb.

Graduate student Kelly Guarino's 16.4ppg in conference play ranks fourth in the league as one of four players to score at least 16 per game. Thus far, Guarino has scored at least 18 points in four of the five conference contests for NJIT.

Guarino tops the conference in three-pointers made (57) and free throw percentage (85.5).

The 5-foot-7 guard has scored 977 points in her career.  She is 23 points shy of becoming the ninth player in school history to reach the 1000-point milestone.

NJIT's 8.6 steals per game in conference action rank second behind only Kennesaw State's 11.4. Alongside Jacksonville and KSU, the Highlanders are one of three teams to take away at least eight steals per game.

Junior forward Danielle Tunstall has recorded double-doubles for the Highlanders in the last three out of four contests, most recently her sixth of the season, with 14 points and 13 rebounds at Stetson.  Tunstall ranks second in the conference at 8.4rpg.

With 5.6bpg, the Highlanders are the only ASUN team to average five or more in conference play – Tunstall (1.8), Milena Bajic (1.6) and Dez Allen (1.4) each average at least one block per game in conference play.

Scouting the Lions from North Alabama
North Alabama enters Sunday's contest with a 14-2 overall mark, 5-1 in the ASUN, having won its last four straight.  Additionally, the Lions are winners of the last seven out of eight games.

The Lions, 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.

Guard Ivy Wallen is coming off a new career-high with 35 points vs. Kennesaw State, her second 30-point game of the year. Her point total led the ASUN for the night and was the third 30-point game of the season from an ASUN player, joining Kamiyah Street's 41-point outing.

The pair of Brittany Panetti and Ivy Wallen's 37.8ppg combined average in conference play is tops in the ASUN. The duo are also the top two scorers in conference play so far with Panetti leading at 19.8ppg and Wallen pouring in 18ppg.

With 18.4apg, the Lions top all ASUN teams through the entire season.

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
Tuesday will mark the 10th all-time meeting with the Eagles with nine of them coming in ASUN action.  Kelly Guarino scored a series-high 17 points for the Highlanders in the ASUN Championship first round meeting with FGCU. In the three-games against the Eagles last season, the guard averaged 12.1ppg.