NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Three members of the NJIT women’s basketball team received Great West Conference Preseason Honors, the conference office announced Monday evening.
Junior guard Jessica Gerald was named to the Preseason first-team all-Great West Conference team while senior twin sister’s Taiwo Oyelola and Kehinde Oyelola were Honorable Mention selectees.
NJIT, who returns seven letterwinners, finished with 13 points, and will play their first season as active full members of NCAA Division I.
North Dakota was chosen to win the inaugural Great West Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, receiving 42 points with two first-place votes.
Chicago State and Utah Valley finished tied for second with 40 points. South Dakota was voted fourth with 28 points while Texas-Pan American tallied 17 points and Houston Baptist with 16 points.
Utah Valley’s Julie McMurray Smith was chosen Player of the Year averaging 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season.
Gerald, who missed the last 10 games due to a broken ankle, led the team in points scored (318) and points per game (16.7) while scoring double-figures in 16 out of 19 games, with 8 20-point games (high of 34 at Chicago State on 1/17).
Taiwo Oyelola, a 5-foot-10 forward, led NJIT with 164 rebounds (5.7rpg) and was third in scoring with 9.2 points per game. She scored in double-figures 14 times (career-high 22 pts at Utah Valley (3/5).
Kehinde Oyelola, scored in double-figures 13 times with a career-high 23 points vs. Savannah State (2/24). She set a Division I record with seven three-point field goals made which matches NJIT's individual single-season record. Kehinde was also named to the Division I Independent all-Tournament team with 12.7ppg and 8.3rpg.
NJIT’s first Great West Conference home game is slated for January 23 at 2 pm against Chicago State.
The Highlanders will open the 2009-10 regular season on Sunday, November 15 at 2pm when they visit Penn State from the Big Ten .