Women's Basketball | 12/29/2016 11:18:00 PM
NEWARK, NJ—NJIT (6-7) will play their final game of 2016 on Friday afternoon when the Highlanders visit Chicago State (0-13) at the Jones Convocation Center with tip slated for 2 pm (CT).
The Highlanders are coming off an 83-52 home victory against Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday evening, paced by a career-high 22 points from
Leah Horton.
With a win at Chicago State on Friday….
--NJIT will move to .500 on the season (7-7)
--NJIT will have won its third straight game (first time this season); last time Highlanders won three straight (2014-15)
--NJIT will have won its last four-out-of-five contents
--
Steve Lanpher will record his 200
th coaching win as head coach
ALL TIME SERIES
Friday's will mark the 14
th meeting between the two teams and first meeting in Chicago since the 2012-13 season. Chicago State holds an 8-5 all-time record. NJIT won the last meeting, 59-48 on January 4, 2015 while Chicago State edged the Highlanders, 58-57, on January 19, 2013.
The Cougars, like NJIT, were part of the old Great West Conference. Both teams were in the Great West for the conference's existence from 2008-09 season through the 2012-13 season.
After 2012-13, the GWC ceased operations, with most of its members, including Chicago State, departing to the Western Athletic Conference.
NJIT won the last women's basketball game ever played in the Great West, the 2013 GWC championship game.
A LOOK AT CHICAGO STATE
Chicago State, still in search for its first win of the 2016-17 season, enters Friday's contest with a 0-13 overall record. The Cougars are coming off an 81-53 loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday in the teams' first all-time meeting.
Sophomore Kaylee Allen paces Chicago State averaging, 13.8 ppg and 2.3 apg in addition to shooting 79 percent from the free throw line and combining for a team-leading 10 blocked shots.
Redshirt junior guard Jessica Cerda is second on the team in scoring at 8.5 ppg and senior guard Cailin Nix is averaging 7.8 ppg.
Junior guard Destiny Harris paces Chicago State on the boards with 5.8 rpg and is shooting 50 percent from three-point range.
WAC PRESEASON POLL
The Cougars were selected to finish eighth while sophomore Kaylee Allen was selected to the Preseason All-Western Athletic Conference second team.
A LOOK AT NJIT
NJIT, which has won the last three out of four contests, improved to 6-7 on the season, with an 83-52 victory over Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday.
Horton, the Highlanders 6-foot-1 senior, who finished with a new career mark, 22 points, shot 8-of-10 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line while pulling down seven rebounds.
Redshirt sophomore guard
Tatianna Torres scored 11 points, dished out a new personal-best eight assists while grabbing two rebounds and two steals. Torres finished 5-for-9 from the field in 28 minutes of action.
Tri-captain
Kelly Guarino netted 11 points – nine of which from behind the arc and finished a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
Freshman forward
Danielle Tunstall, who returned back to the court after missing three games, netted 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
Junior center
Maria Ruban made her first appearance of the season, scoring eight points and pulling down a game-best nine rebounds (three shy her personal-best). Senior
Alana Dudley added eight points and six assists.
NJIT, which is 1-4 on the road this season (lone win coming at Delaware State on December 11), is paced by Dudley's 11.7 ppg, 49 assists and 22 steals. Dudley has recorded at least one assist or steal in the first 13 games and sits in third all-time in the NJIT Division I era with 227 assists.
The other double-figure scorer for NJIT is senior forward
Leah Horton at 11.2 ppg.
NEXT ACTION
NJIT will return to action in the New Year, hosting Columbia in the Highlanders final non-conference game of the season. Tip is slated for 11:30 a.m. (Education Day) from the Fleisher Athletic Center.
