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BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The Blackbirds return home to the Steinberg Wellness Center this week, for a four-game home streak. This week, LIU hosts NJIT, Wednesday, November 20th at 7 p.m., and then just 48 hours later, faces off with Maine, Friday, November 22 at 7 p.m. The Blackbirds then get six days off, before hosting the annual LIU Brooklyn Turkey Classic, featuring McNeese State, Georgia Tech and Southern Utah.
These games at home will be the last for LIU until 2014. After the championship game of the Turkey Classic, LIU will go on a month-long road swing, which includes games in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Arizona. In January, LIU will play road games at Wagner and Mount St. Mary's, before taking on St. Francis Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, January 11. The next time LIU plays in the Steinberg Center will be January 13, 2014, against Central Connecticut State.
LIU will be looking to rebound from a tough loss on the road to Rider. The Blackbirds dropped a midweek matchup to the Broncs, 62-48. LIU had another strong performance from senior Cleandra Roberts, who notched her first double double of the season, with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead LIU in both categories. Junior Letava Whippy added ten points and four steals in the win, while senior Fanny Cavallo added a career-high 10 points, along with six rebounds. Junior Ashley Brown also had her first points in an LIU uniform, adding six points to the team total.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NJIT
• LIU and NJIT, despite being in close proximity to each other geographically, have only ever faced off in women's basketball twice. The Blackbirds have the all-time advantage, 2-0
• In the initial meeting, LIU won at home in Brooklyn, 60-51, on January 6, 2007. The two teams had their second meeting just 11 months later, when the Blackbirds beat the Highlanders 67-63 in Newark, N.J. on December 12, 2007. Since then, the two teams haven't met.
• The 67-63 win of LIU in the last meeting was driven by Blackbird guard Valerie Nainima, who had a career-high 32 points in the win.
SCOUTING NJIT
• NJIT is coming off a banner season in 2012-13. The Highlanders won the 2013 Great West Tournament last winter, having never won a conference tournament title at any level. They also had their first winning record (16-15) since the school joined Division I in 2006-07.
• The Highlanders, competing as an independent team this year, are trying to come to grips with losing their top scorer and rebounder, Rayven Johnson, who averaged 15.9 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game.
• NJIT is 0-4 so far this season, with losses to Stony Brook (50-44), Lehigh (77-72), New Hampshire (53-40) and most recently, Howard (80-73).
• The Highlanders are led by junior forward Martina Matejcikova, who is averaging 11.5 points per game, and shooing 44% from behind the arc. Forward Shakia Robinson is NJIT's other main scorer, as she's averaged 10.8 points per game. Senior forward Uju Nwankwo leads the team on the boards, with a 20.5 rebounds per game average, while junior guard Alyssa Albanese is the team's best free throw shooter, with a 73.7% average, shooting 14-for-19 from the line.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MAINE
• LIU and Maine have only ever met once in the history of the two programs. The two teams faced off as a part of the Dead River Classic in Orono, Maine in December of 1993, with the Black Bears coming out on top, 55-33.
SCOUTING MAINE
• Maine is 2-0 so far this season, with sound wins over NDSU (64-59) and Bryant (75-65).
• The Black Bears haven't played on the road yet, and will visit Brooklyn as a part of a swing through New York State. After taking on the Blackbirds on the 22nd, Maine will head back north to take on Syracuse, November 24, before returning home.
• The Black Bears are led by senior guard Ashleigh Roberts, who has a 17.0 points per game average, along with 4.5 rebounds per game and a team-high five steals. Freshman guard Sigi Koizar averages 10.0 points per game, shooting 72% from the free throw line, while sophomore forward Liz Wood leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game.
• The Black Bears are a strong shooting team, as they have a team field goal percentage of .420 so far, including .400 from behind the three point line. They also average 8.5 steals per game as a squad.
• Other offensive weapons include sophomore guard Sophie Weckstrom (9.0 points per game) and sophomore center Anna Heise (9.0 points per game).
CRAZY CAREER HIGHS VS. COLUMBIA
• Though the end result wasn't what the Blackbirds had hoped for, the season-opening loss to Columbia saw two upperclassmen notch impressive career highs.
• Senior Cleandra Roberts hit career highs in points (23), field goals made (10), field goals attempted (19), and three-pointers attempted (3).
• Junior Letava Whippy had only the second double-double of her career, as she scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The guard had career highs in points (16), field goals made (6), and field goals attempted (10), while tying her career highs for free throws made (4) and free throws attempted (7).
BETTER ON THE BOARDS
• LIU has out-rebounded opponents in both games so far this season. Against the Lions, LIU had 47 team rebounds, to Columbia's 32. And against the Broncs, LIU out-rebounded Rider, 40-37.
• Senior Cleandra Roberts set another career high against the Broncs, this time in rebounds. She had 16 rebounds to match her 16 points, for LIU's second double double of the year so far.