NEWARK, NJ–Coming off a regular season series sweep against Binghamton on Wednesday behind a career-best 31 points by freshman Alejandra Zuniga the NJIT women's basketball team will travel to second-place Vermont on Saturday.

Game Information
Tip off is slated for 2pm inside Patrick Gymnasium on ESPN3 with in-game statistics available for free on UVMAthletics.com.

All-Time Series
Vermont leads the all-time series, 8-1.  The Highlanders lone win over the Catamounts dates back to December 27, 2020, a 70-60 victory in Newark.

Earlier this season in Newark, Vermont cruised to a 65-32 road victory.

America East Conference
The Highlanders currently sit in fifth place in the America East standings with a 8-5 record while Vermont sits in second place with an 11-2 mark.  This season, NJIT registered three season series sweeps against New Hampshire, UMass Lowell, Binghamton and a home victory against Bryant and a big road win at Maine.

The Catamounts are currently second in America East at 11-2 just behind UAlbany who is 12-2 in conference play. Maine and UMBC round out the top four at 9-4 and 9-5 in America East play.

13 Overall Wins | 8 America East Victories
The 13 wins are two shy of the 15-win output from a season ago which marked the second highest win total in the Division I era.  The eight wins in the America East are one shy of the program-best nine wins accomplished last season.

Last Time out for NJIT
Freshman Alejandra Zuniga scored a career-best 31 points to lead NJIT to a 75-70 home victory over visiting Binghamton Wednesday evening in America East Conference women's basketball action inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

The 31 points scored by Zuniga are the most points scored by a freshman since the 2007-08 season when Jessica Gerald '11 scored a school-record 37 points against Cal-State Bakersfield.  The 5-foot-8 guard from Madrid, Spain has scored in double-digits in 18 games this season.  She finished Wednesday's game 10-for-18 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. The five assists dished out by Zuniga is also a new personal-best mark.

In addition to Zuniga, sophomore Trinity Williams combined for her fourth double-double of the season, tying her personal-best mark of 16 points and pulling down 12 rebounds (one shy of her career-best) – both vs. Central Connecticut State (11.19.22).  The Highlander forward finished 8-for-12 from the field.

Senior Kenna Squier combined for 15 points, six rebounds and two assists in the win, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. 

Reigning America East Rookie of the Week
Freshman Alejandra Zuniga picked up her third America East Conference women's basketball Rookie of the Week honor the league office announced on Monday.

In a 1-1 week for the Highlanders, Zuniga averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.

The 5-foot-6 guard from Madrid, Spain, finished with 13 points, four steals and three assists in a three-point home loss to UMBC.

She combined for 16 points, four assists and three rebounds in a road win at Maine on Saturday.  Zuniga was also named AEHoops BIG TIME Performer, marking the second honor this season.

AEHoops Big Time Performer
Zuniga tallied her third AEHoops Big Time Performer award and second in a row after her 31-point performance against Binghamton.  Zuniga shot 10-for-18 from the field, 8-of-8 from the free throw line and dished out five assists.

Scouting Vermont
Vermont enters Saturday's contest on an 11-game win streak, 11-2 in the America East, 10-2 at home and 19-6 overall.

Emma Utterback ranks fourth in the America East in scoring (13.5) while Anna Olson sits in sixth in rebounding (6.4).  Utterback is second in field goal percentage (50.9) just behind the America East leader in Kenna Squier at (51.2) percent.

Next Up
NJIT will conclude the road portion of the America East Conference schedule on Wednesday, February 22 at 7pm when the Highlanders visit Bryant.

Earlier this season, Five Highlanders scored in double-figures paced by freshman Alejandra Zuniga's game-tying 19 points as NJIT rallied back down by as many as 18 in a come-from-behind overtime win over visiting Bryant, 71-67, in a Wednesday America East Conference matinee inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center on Education Day.

Down by as many as 18, NJIT rallied back to cut the Bulldog lead to single digits eight, 43-35, paced by eight straight points by Zuniga at the 4:08 mark of the third quarter.  Bryant pushed its advantage back to double-digits to take a 16-point lead, 54-38 just under one-minute.  An old-fashioned three-point play by Aria Myers sparked a 5-2 run for NJIT to close out the third quarter down by 12, 55-43. 

NJIT came out on fire in the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight, pulling within three of Bryant, 55-52 capped by a pair of free throws by Zuniga.  The Bulldogs pushed its advantage to five, 59-54 at the 3:24 mark.  NJIT scored eight straight points, knotting the game at 59-all after a steal and layup by Zuniga and went ahead for the first time in the second half, 62-59 on a three-point play by Trinity Williams.  Bryant called for a timeout with less than :30 left to go in regulation and would tie the game at 62-62 on a three-pointer by Alanda Perkins with :22 on the clock.  The Bulldog defense forced a missed shot by the Highlanders in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.