Game 2	NJIT (1-0, 15-15 in 2021-22) vs. Lafayette (0-1, 12-18 in 2021-22)
Date | Time	Friday, November 11 | 7pm
Location | Arena	Newark, NJ | Wellness and Events Center
Live Video	ESPN3
Live Stats	In-game stats (free)
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | Lafayette Notes

NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT women's basketball team will open its home campaign on Friday night at 7pm welcoming Lafayette inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

Game Information
Tipoff is slated for 7pm inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center on ESPN3 with in-game statistics available on NJITHighlanders.com.  How to Watch?

All-Time Series
Lafayette leads the all-time series, 5-1.  NJIT won the first meeting between the two schools which dates back to December 28, 2006, a 70-59 road victory.  Lafayette has won the last five match-ups with the most recent victory on December 4, 2021 in Easton, PA, a 71-64 victory.

Flash Back to 2021-22 Season
NJIT finished the season with a 15-15 overall record.  The 15 wins are the second-highest win total since moving to Division I (2006-07 season). 

The Highlanders, competing in its second season in the America East, were selected eighth in the preseason coaches poll and recorded a program-best nine wins to earn the No. 4 seed in the 2022 America East Conference Playoffs.  

NJIT hosted the first-ever America East Conference quarterfinal game on March 5, registering the program's first America East victory and postseason win (NJIT 47, UMass Lowell 33) in over 10 seasons.

The eight road wins is also a new program-best for the Highlanders.

Opening Win at Rider
With the 68-60 road victory at Rider on November 7, 2022, marked the first time since 2016-17 NJIT opened up the season 1-0.

With a victory at home on Friday, NJIT will begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2016-17. 
Nov. 12, 2016 vs. Wagner | W, 68-45 
Nov. 15, 2016 vs. St. Joseph's Brooklyn | W, 87-54

#ProtectTheWEC
NJIT will play 13 games (five non-conference; eight America East) inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.  

The last time NJIT hit the hardwood inside the WEC was the 2021 America East Conference Quarterfinals on March 5 when Highlanders defeated the River Hawks from UMass Lowell, 47-33, to advance to the America East semifinals for the first time in program history.

The seven wins at home inside the Wellness and Events Center in 2021 are the most wins at home by the Highlanders since the facility opened in 2017-18.

Highlander Co-Captains
The NJIT women's basketball team has selected senior Kenna Squier and junior Lyzi Litwinko to serve as team captains for the 2022-23 season.

Squier, a 5–foot-9 guard from Branchville, NJ, was selected to the America East Conference third team last season.  Squier topped the Highlanders last season in scoring 11.1ppg and steals with 44.  Her 11.1ppg ranked 13th in the America East. She combined for 20 double-digit games, including a career-best 24 points in NJIT's overtime win at Maine on January 2, 2022. Squier finished the season ranked fifth in free throw percentage (.745), seventh in minute played (32.7), eighth in steals (1.5) and 12th in blocked shots (0.7) in the America East.

Litwinko, a two-time America East Conference honoree (Third team in 2021-22; All-Rookie team 2020-21), ranked third on the Highlander squad a season ago, averaging 10.7ppg while leading the team with 7.1rpg.  

The 5-foot-8 guard ranked fourth in the America East in rebounding and recorded three double-doubles, including a new personal-best mark of 22 points at Binghamton on January 22, 2022.  Her 13 rebounds at Binghamton matches her personal-best mark (vs. New Hampshire in 2021). In addition to ranking in the top four in rebounding in the America East, Litwinko ranked sixth in free throw percentage (.732), 13th in minutes played (30.9) and 18th in assists (2.1).

New Kids on the Block .. Full Release
The NJIT women's basketball team added a trio of high school standouts – Avery O'Roke (Winchester, VA), Kyleigh Welsh (Clearwater, FL) and Alejandra Zuniga (Madrid, Spain), who joined the Highlanders in the Fall of 2022.

On the Sidelines
Earlier this summer, fifth-year head coach Mike Lane announced the addition of Colleen Moriarty and Payce Lange as Assistant Coaches.  Moriarty and Lange will join fifth-year Assistant Coach Aaron Gratch and Anyssa Sanchez who will begin her third season as Director of Basketball Operations on the sidelines.

America East Conference
NJIT will begin its third season in the America East and will play a schedule of 16 conference games against the other eight schools.  The Highlanders became the 10th full member of the America East on July 1, 2020.

The Highlanders were predicted to finish fourth out of the nine league teams in the preseason coaches poll.  Full Release

Scouting the Leopards from Lafayette
Lafayette comes to Newark after a 65-42 road loss at VCU, a 2021 WNIT runner-up, on November 7 to open the 2022 season.  Junior forward Kayla Drummond led the Leopards with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Leopards return three starters from last season's usual five in Abby Antognoli, Jess Booth and Makayla Andrews. The maroon and white will look to fill the loss of Naomi Ganpo (7.2ppg, 8.0rpg) who graduated in May.   

Ganpo was named the 2022-23 Patriot League's female recipient of the Victory Scholarship. The graduate now attends SouthEast Technical College in Carlow, Ireland. The Victory Scholarship awarded by the Sport Changes Life Foundation, provides student-athletes the opportunity to continue their athletic and academic careers by playing on a club team and studying in a graduate program at a university in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

Last season, Lafayette finished seventh in the Patriot League with an overall record of 12-18 (7-11 PL).  This season, the Leopards were selected sixth in the Patriot League Preseason Coaches Poll with 78 points.

The Leopards welcome four new faces to the 2022-23 roster – freshman Kay Donahue, Sauda Ntaconayigize, Emma Shields and Quinnipiac transfer Halee Smith. Shields comes from Troy, NY attending the Emma Willard School. The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 19.9 points per game and was a McDonald's All-American Nominee.

Next Up
The Highlanders will head down the New Jersey Turnpike and face first-time opponent Rutgers from the Big Ten Conference on November 13 inside Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway.  

Last season, the NJIT women's basketball team picked up its first Big Ten program win on the road at Wisconsin, 61-49, on November 14, 2021, paced by 14 points each from veterans Ellyn Stoll and Kenna Squier.

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.