BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team heads across state lines Thursday, to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology, in a non-conference midweek match up, Thursday, December 11 at 7 p.m. LIU (0-6) is still looking for its first win of the season, and will face off against a 5-5 Highlanders' squad.
The Blackbirds are coming off a recent road loss. Senior
Letava Whippy put up a 12-point effort, but the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team fell to Columbia, 54-45 on the road on Sunday afternoon in New York, N.Y. Whippy nearly had a double-double, also chipping in nine rebounds, but the Blackbirds shot just 24.1 percent from the field. Sophomore
Brianna Farris added nine points, all three-pointers, while junior
Jolanna Ford had seven points and six rebounds.
ALL-TIME SERIES• The Blackbirds lead the all-time series against NJIT, 2-1. The Highlanders' first win came last season, as NJIT beat the Blackbirds in Brooklyn, 60-58.
• It was a heartbreaking loss, as the Blackbirds rallied late in the game to tie it up with two seconds left, only to have NJIT hit a buzzer-beating shot, and take the win, 60-58. After LIU tied it up with 12 seconds left to play, NJIT got the ball inbounds, and over half court, calling timeout with 2.9 seconds left on the clock. The Highlanders drew up a play, and freshman Alana Dudley executed it perfectly, making the jumper from the left elbow as the clock expired.
•
Cleandra Roberts led all players with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS• NJIT comes into the midweek match-up with a 5-5 overall record. The Highlanders have a 3-0 record against Northeast Conference teams so far this season, with wins over Wagner (60-54), St. Francis Brooklyn (57-50 in OT), and Fairleigh Dickinson (68-64).
• Most recently, they are coming off a 62-47 loss to Hofstra at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center Tuesday night. With that loss, NJIT is 3-2 at home this season.
• The Highlanders have three players averaging in the double-digits this season, led by senior point guard Alyssa Albanese (11.2 points per game), followed by sophomore forward Leah Horton, with 10.9 points per game, and sophomore guard Alana Dudley, who is averaging 10.1 points per game.
• Horton also tops the team in rebounds, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, while Albanese has dished out a team-high 38 assists. Albanese and Dudley are both long distance threats, as they jointly lead the team with 12 three-point field goals made on the season.
• Most recently, senior forward Martina Matejcikova led NJIT's offense, as she scored a season-high 19 points Tuesday, in just 18 minutes of play. The Slovakia native shot 78% from the field in Tuesday's loss.
• Also on Tuesday, senior center Nicole Maticka set an NJIT Division I career block record (180), and has 17 blocks so far this season.