BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team, in the midst of a three-game home-stand, welcomes NJIT to the Steinberg Wellness Center, Wednesday, December 9, for a non-conference midweek match-up. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT• The Blackbirds could not stop Colgate's fourth quarter surge Saturday afternoon in the Steinberg Wellness Center, as the Blackbirds dropped the game to the Raiders, 63-53. Senior
Shanice Vaughan led LIU with 12 points and four assists in the loss, which dropped the Blackbirds to 2-4 on the season.
• Junior
Shanovia Dove had 11 rebounds, five steals and eight points in the loss. Sophomore
Paris Jones scored in double digits for the fifth game in a row, with 10 points, while sophomore
Stylz Sanders had a career-high nine points along with nine rebounds. Sophomore
DeAngelique Waithe had a career-high three blocks, all in the first quarter.
• Earlier in the week, the Blackbirds had a thrilling overtime win on the road against Navy. LIU rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force the game into overtime, and take the win from the Midshipmen, 68-66. Dove led LIU with a career-high 27 points, along with nine rebounds and three assists. Jones added 15 points, while Vaughan had 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. Senior
Jolanna Ford added eight points and nine rebounds in the win.
ALL-TIME SERIES• This will be the fifth time in program history that NJIT and LIU Brooklyn women's basketball will face off. LIU leads the all-time series, 3-1.
• The Blackbirds won the most recent match-up, in December of 2014. It was LIU's first win of the season, and the Blackbirds used a second-half surge and 17 team steals to beat NJIT, 57-48.
Paris Jones chipped in a season-high 10 points in the win, all of which were scored in the second half to help lift LIU to the win at the Fleisher Athletic Center.
SCOUTING THE HIGLANDERS• NJIT comes into the weekend with a 2-5 record so far this season, including a 76-53 loss to Northeast Conference opponent Wagner last week. The Highlanders also suffered an 81-54 defeat at the hands of ACC foe Virgina this weekend. Four of NJIT's five losses have come on the road.
• Both of NJIT's wins have come over small schools, including a 78-41 defeat of NCAA Division III opponent St. Joseph's Brooklyn, and a 71-50 win over USCAA small school College of St. Joseph (VT).
• Redshirt freshman Kelly Guarino leads NJIT in scoring, with 12.4 points per game. She is also one of the top long-distance shooters in the nation so far this season. The freshman ranks nationally in several categories, including three-point field goals per game (3.86 - 3rd in NCAA), three-point field goals made (27 - T5th in NCAA) and three-point field goal percentage (51.9 - 10th in NCAA).
• Guarino was recently named Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Week this week. In NJIT's two losses last week, she averaged 18 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field (12-for-23) and 50 percent from three-point range (11-for-22). Against Virginia, she had seven three-pointers in the first half, on her way to a career-high 24 points.
• Junior forward Leah Horton adds 10.9 points per game, and leads the team in rebounds (7.0 per game), and steals (12).