NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT women's basketball team will travel to Maine for a Saturday afternoon tip in America East Conference action.

Game Information
Tip off is slated for 1pm on ESPN3 inside The Pit Memorial Gymnasium with in-game live statistics available on GoBlackBears.com.

America East Conference
The Highlanders currently sit in sixth place in the America East standings with a 6-5 record while the Black Bears sit in third place with a 8-3 mark.  This season, NJIT has wins over Binghamton, Bryant, and season series sweep against New Hampshire and UMass Lowell.  

All-Time Series
Saturday will mark the ninth meeting between the two schools.  Maine leads 5-3 in the all-time series record.  Maine owned a 3-0 record over the Highlanders in 2021-22 after defeating the Highlanders 72-48, in last season's America East semifinal round and sweeping the regular season series. NJIT defeated Maine in overtime, 67-59, on Jan. 2 in Bangor, Maine.  Prior to NJIT joining the league, the two teams met in 2009, a contest won by NJIT in Newark by a score of 63-50. The first-ever meeting came in 2008.

Last Time Out vs. Maine | January 7, 2023
In the last meeting in Newark on January 7, NJIT went on a late scoring run in the second half that helped the Highlanders cut a 19-point deficit to just three points with 1:30 remaining but visiting Maine used a 6-2 run to close out the game to secure a 69-63 road victory at NJIT.

NJIT, down by as many as 19 in the third quarter with 7:13 on the clock, used a 17-4 run to slim the Black Bear lead to single digits, five, 46-41, capped by a pair of free throws by Kenna Squier, heading into the fourth quarter.

Maine went up by 10-points five minutes into the fourth period, 59-49, but the Highlanders inched their way back, closing the gap to three, 63-60, after consecutive steals and layups with 1:28 play, resulting in a Black Bear timeout. 

Maine finished the game on a 6-2 spurt to secure the 69-63 road victory.

Last Time Out
Senior guard Kenna Squier scored a career-best 29 points but it wasn't enough as UMBC rallied back down double-digits to earn the 72-69 road victory at NJIT Wednesday evening in America East Conference action inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

Squier, the Highlanders 5-foot-8 guard and reigning America East Conference Player of the Week, set a new personal-best mark with a game-best 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 38 minutes.  The 29 points scored by Squier are the most points scored since 2018 when Kelly Guarino '19 netted a career-best 28 points at Colgate on December 18.

Reigning America East Player of the Week - Kenna Squier (2.6.23)
In a 2-0 week for the Highlanders, Squier nearly averaged a double-double, combining for 18.0ppg, 9.0rpg and shooting an impressive 68.4% from the field (13-for-19).

Squier recorded 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in the Highlanders road win at New Hampshire on February 1 to sweep the regular season series from the Wildcats.

On Saturday, Squier registered her third career double-double, netting a game-best 22 points (two shy her career-high), 10 rebounds (one-shy her personal-best mark) and shot 7-for-10 from the field in NJIT's 68-50 home victory over UMass Lowell.

Scouting the Black Bears
Maine, which enters Saturday's game on a two-game skid, sits in third place in the America East with an 8-3 mark and 12-11 overall.  The Black Bears are 6-4 inside The Pit inside Memorial Gymnasium.

The Black Bears are led by Adrianna Smith who is averaging nearly a double-double with 16.7ppg and 9.2rpg while shooting 49.7% from the field, 28 steals and 13 blocks.

Smith tops the America East in both scoring and rebounding.

Against the Highlanders in Newark, Smith combined for a double-double, netting 34 points and 10 rebounds, earning America East Player of the Week accolades. 

She has combined for 13 double-digit scoring contests, including three games scoring 30 or more points with a career-best 34 at NJIT.

Caroline Bornemann who has started all 23 games for the Black Bears is averaging 9.6ppg and 6.1rpg.

Next Up
NJIT will return home for a big home match up against Binghamton on February 15 at 7pm inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.  Earlier this season, NJIT defeated Binghamton 62-57 on January 11.