Game 10	NJIT (5-4, 0-0 AE) at Sacred Heart (4-5, 0-0 NEC)
Date | Time	Wednesday, December 6, 2023 | 7pm
Location | Arena	Fairfield, CT | William H Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center
Live Video	NEC Front Row
Live Stats	In-game stats (free)
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | SHU Notes

NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT women's basketball team will conclude its five-game road swing on Wednesday when the Highlanders visit Sacred Heart.

Game Information
Tip off is slated for 7pm inside William H Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center and will be streamed live on NEC Front Row with in-game statistics available on SacredHeartPioneers.com.

All-Time Series
Sunday will be the first meeting between the two institutions.

Four Teams Reaching Postseason in 2023 on the Highlanders Non-Conference Slate
NJIT will travel to 2023 Northeast Conference Champion Sacred Heart (19-14 overall, 12-4 NEC) on December 6.  The Pioneers registered the first NCAA Tournament win in program history and the first win for a Northeast Conference women's team.

For the first time in program history, NJIT hosted Notre Dame on Sunday, November 12 inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.  The Irish, who reached the 2023 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, finished with a 27-6 overall record.  NJIT's Lane is a 1993 graduate of Notre Dame, where he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing.

Miami, who the Highlanders visited for the first time on December 3, reached the 2023 NCAA Elite Eight, finishing with a 22-13 overall record.  

The Highlanders made a short trip to Northeast Conference regular season champion Fairleigh Dickinson (24-8 overall, 14-2 NEC) on November 29.  FDU earned an automatic qualifier bid to the 2023 WNIT due to the Knights winning the NEC regular season title.  NJIT, which dropped the previous eight meetings with the Knights, snapped the losing streak on November 29 coming out on top with a 61-46 victory.

Started Off the Season 4-1 | Best Start Since 2012-13
The Highlanders started off the season 4-1 for the first time since the 2012-13 season.  NJIT opened up the season at Army West Point (Nov. 6) and came away with a 73-57 road victory, pulled out an overtime home victory at home over first time opponent Merrimack (Nov. 10) 48-45, paced by Trinity Williams double-double (12pts, 11reb) and had four players score in double-figures in the home win over Rider.  NJIT exploded for 80 points in a 80-36 win over Wagner on November 18, paced by four double-figure scorers.  The Highlanders lone loss in the five-game stretch came against then-ranked top-10 team Notre Dame (currently ranked No. 18).

Nov. 6 | at Army West Point | W, 73-57
Nov. 10 | vs. Merrimack | W, 48-45 (OT)
Nov. 12 | vs. #10 Notre Dame | 57-104
Nov. 15 | vs. Rider | W, 70-57
Nov. 18 | vs. Wagner | W, 80-36

Last Time Out
NJIT's Alejandra Zuniga scored a game-high 15 points but it wasn't enough as Miami topped the visiting Highlanders, 87-43, Sunday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball action inside the Watsco Center.

Miami, who reached the 2023 NCAA Elite Eight a season ago, remains perfect in 2023 with a 7-0 record.  NJIT remains above .500, moving to 5-4 on the season.

Zuniga, who has scored in double-digits in all nine games this season, netted a team-best 15 points followed by graduate student Kenna Squier (12).  Trinity Williams and Madilyn Dogs each added four points for the Highlanders.

Williams, Zuniga and Mackenzie Wright-Rawls each grabbed four rebounds while Williams dished out a career-best five assists.

Back for her Graduate Year - Kenna Squier

Squier was selected to the America East Conference third team.  She currently sits third in the NJIT DI era with 1,236 points (5th all-time), 529 rebounds, 245 assists (5th in NJIT DI era), 159 steals (1st DI era; 8th all-time) and 115 games played/started (T-5th in NJIT DI era).

The guard from Branchville, NJ, tied the NJIT Division I single-game record with seven steals in the Highlanders win at FDU on November 29.

Picking Up Where She Left Off - Alejandra Zuniga
Ready for her second season in a Highlander uniform is Zuniga, who was selected America East Rookie of the Year, became the first player in NJIT women's basketball program history to be named to the accolade, including America East Third Team, America East All-Rookie Team.

The 31 points scored by Zuniga against Binghamton on February 15, 2023 are the most points scored by a freshman since the 2008 season.

This season, Zuniga paces the Highlanders with 14.8ppg and has scored in double-digits in all nine games this season, including two 20-point contests (season-high 23 at Army). 

Poured in a Season-Best 80 Points
The 80 points in the win over Wagner (80-36) on November 18 is a season-high and are the most points scored by a Highlander team since the 2019-20 season when the Highlanders defeated Saint Francis Brooklyn 88-69 in Newark.

Sophomore Alejandra Zuniga netted a game-best 11 points followed by Trinity Williams (10), Lyzi Litwinko (10) and Reese Vaughan (10).  Litwinko went 4-of-5 from the field and Gingrich finished 2-of-4 from three-point range.

Dishing Out Dimes
As a team, NJIT dished out 20 assists in the win over Wagner, 80-36, on November 18. The 20 assists are the most by a Highlander team since the 2019-20 season (28 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn; 11.26.19).

Forward Trinity Williams set a new personal-best mark of five assists at Miami on December 3.

New Kids on the Block
Madilyn Dogs, Guard, Kewaskum, WI/Kewaskum High School
Audrey Kormann, Forward, Maple Grove, MN/Maple Grove Senior High
Marissa Gingrich, Guard, Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County High School
Mackenzie Wright-Rawls, Forward, York, PA/Central York High School
Angelina Banas, Forward, Columbus, NJ/Notre Dame High School

Women's Basketball Announces 2028 Class
NJIT sixth-year head coach Mike Lane announced the addition of five high school standouts who will join the Highlanders for the 2024-25 season.

Allison Cannon (Holmdel, NJ), Piper Engelby (Andover, MN), Olivia Kulyk (Edniboro, PA), Olivia O'Meally (Niskayuna, NY) and Mayah Alford (Levittown, PA) will begin their first semester with the Highlanders in the Fall of 2024.

America East Conference
NJIT will begin its fourth 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 and were selected to finish fifth in the 2023-24 preseason coaches poll, receiving 38 votes.

The Highlanders, which made its third consecutive appearance in the 2023 America East postseason tournament, concluded its season with a 13-16 overall mark and 8-8 in the America East.

Fans will once again be able to watch every #AEHoops home game on The AE on ESPN with all games airing on ESPN+ or ESPN3 domestically and AmericaEast.TV internationally.

Scouting Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart (4-5) enters Wednesday's contest on a four-game skid, two of which went to overtime.  The most recent loss coming at America East opponent Bryant, a 74-71 overtime loss, on December 2.

Ny'Ceara Pryor, the 2023 Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, all in the same season, recorded the first triple-double of her career this week, earning her third consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week award.

Pryor led the Pioneers in points (25.5), rebounds (9.0), assists (6.5) and steals per game (4.0) over the two games last week. She went 18-for-40 (45.0%) from the field and was a perfect 15-for-15 at the line. The Baltimore, MD native first scored 26 points, one shy of her career high, with seven rebounds, three assists and five steals in Wednesday's OT setback against Fairfield. She followed that up with the second triple-double in program history with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists at Bryant.

The Pioneers have three players in double-digits paced by Pryor (17.3ppg) Sajada Bonner (12.0ppg) and Amelia Wood (10.7ppg).  On the boards, Pryor, standing a 5-foot-3 paces the team with 6.2rpg followed by Wood (5.4).

Sacred Heart had a stretch early in the season, registering four straight wins against Morgan State, Monmouth, Hofstra and University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.  

The Pioneers, unanimous preseason NEC favorite in 2023-24 after capturing the 2023 Northeast Conference Tournament title (19-14 overall, 12-4 NEC) and registered the first NCAA Tournament win in program history and the first win for a Northeast Conference women's team a season ago.

Next Up
NJIT, which wrapped its 2023 regular season road schedule, will play the next three games at home before ringing in the New Year.  NJIT will first welcome Saint Peter's (Dec. 12 at 7pm), Saint Francis U (Dec. 15 at 6pm) and as part of a doubleheader with the NJIT men, NJIT will host LIU (Dec. 31 at 1pm) followed by the NJIT men vs. Morgan State at 4:30pm inside the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center.

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