NEWARK, NJ--NJIT will return back home and host Saint Peter's on Saturday, November 27 inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center. Tip-off is slated for 2pm on ESPN3.
Game Information
Tip-off is slated for 2pm inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center and for those not able to attend the game can watch via ESPN3 with in-game statistics available on NJITHighlanders.com.
All-Time Series
Saint Peter's leads the all-time series, 5-3. The last two meetings between NJIT and Saint Peter's have been split.
11/25/20 - SPU 69, NJIT 64 (OT)
12/4/19 - NJIT 76, SPU 73
In NJIT's win on December 4, Kenna Squier scored her first collegiate double-double, netting 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Stretch of Three
NJIT won a stretch of three games (Nov. 14 to Nov. 18), which began with an upset win at Big Ten opponent Wisconsin (61-49) on Nov. 14, followed up with an home overtime victory against LIU (59-53) on Nov. 18 and held on for a 67-63 win against the Blue Devils.
The last time the Highlanders won three straight was in 2019-20 during a stretch of a pair of wins at home against St. Francis Brooklyn (Nov. 26, 2019) and Saint Peter's (Dec. 4, 2019) and on the road at Hartford (Dec. 7, 2019).
Last Time Out for NJIT
Fairleigh Dickinson combined for 40 second half points on its way to a 65-55 victory over visiting NJIT in women's basketball non-conference action Wednesday afternoon inside the Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center.
For NJIT, sophomore Grace Plummer led the Highlanders with nine points -- all coming in the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 coming from downtown in 17 minutes of action. Three different Highlanders -- Kenna Squier, Kimi Evans and Ellyn Stoll each chipped in eight points apiece. Evans finished 4-of-8 from the field followed by Squier who shot 4-of-6 from the field. Squier grabbed a season-best eight rebounds and added three assists.
Highlanders Returning Leading Scorer - Kenna Squier
A season ago, Squier, the only player to average double-digits at 10.6ppg has started 47 career games and enters her junior campaign with 507 career points, 207 career rebounds while shooting 46 percent from the field (175-384) and 73 percent from the free throw line (136-186).
Through the first six games of the season, Squier paces the team with 10.8ppg and has scored in double-digits in all five out of six games with a season-best 14 points at Wisconsin on November 14, 2021.
Rising Sophomore Lyzi Litwinko
Litwinko, named to the 2021 America East All-Rookie team, averaged 8.5ppg and 6.4rpg, including two double-doubles last season. The 5-foot-8 guard led the Highlanders on board and earned America East Conference Player of the Week five times last season.
This season, Litwinko has grabbed at least four rebounds through the first six games, including a season-best eight rebounds vs. Wagner in the season opener on November 9, 2021.
Collegiate Debut for Trinity Williams
NJIT freshman Trinity Williams netted 13 points in her collegiate debut against Wagner the season opener on November 9, 2021. Williams, the Highlanders 6-foot-1 forward from Upper Black, PA, shared game-high honors in her debut with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-for-2 from downtown in 17 minutes of action off the bench.
America East Conference
NJIT will begin its second season in the America East and will play a schedule of 18 conference games against the other nine schools. The Highlanders became the 10th full member of the America East on July 1, 2020. The Highlanders were predicted to finish eighth out of the 10 league teams in the preseason coaches poll.
Scouting the Opponent
Saint Peter's enters Saturday's game with a 1-3 overall record, most recently dropping a 10-point decision to Howard, 62-52 on November 21. Kendrea Williams led the way for the Peacocks, scoring a season-best 23 points and grabbing four rebounds.
The lone win of the season came against Wagner, 66-67 on November 17 led by Kassondra Brown's huge double-double performance of 22 points and 16 rebounds.
After a historic 2020-21 season that saw the Peacocks reach the championship round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament, Saint Peter's, which was voted eighth in this year's preseason poll, experienced exponential growth as a team last season, finishing with 13 overall wins and 10 during the league slate to represent the team's best finish since the 2008-09 season.
Graduate student guard Kendrea Williams was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team.
Guided by fourth-year head coach Marc Mitchell, who earned MAAC Co-Coach of the Year accolades -- the first Peacock head coach to do so since 1999.
Next Up
NJIT will play a pair of games on the road, first visiting Rider on December 1 at 7pm and Lafayette on December 4 at 2pm.
Stay Connected
Stay up to date during the NJIT Women's Basketball season by following @NJITWBB on Twitter and Instagram and liking the NJIT Women's Basketball page on Facebook.
