W. Basketball Returns Home to Face NJIT

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HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team will return home for its second home game of the season when it takes on Garden State foe NJIT for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Stratis Arena. The game will be streamed live free of charge through NEC Front Row on www.fduknights.com.

The Knights (1-5) are coming off a 101-44 loss at No. 6/7 Penn State on Sunday. Redshirt junior Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) paced the offense with 15 points, and freshman Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) made the most of her 13 minutes by scoring a career-high 13 points, all in the second half. For the game, FDU shot 15-of-50 for a 30 percent clip and was 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from distance and was outrebounded 52-27.

NJIT (4-4), who is projected to finish second in the five-team Great West Conference, has lost three in a row after starting out the season 4-1. The Highlanders opened the season with a 69-66 loss at Seton Hall before winning at Rider, 53-51. Wins over Division III schools Centenary (NJ) and Rutgers-Newark and NEC opponent St. Francis Brooklyn (73-61) pushed NJIT's record to 4-1 before a home loss to Stony Brook (59-34), a road loss at Albany (76-41) and a home loss to Northeastern (59-45) last Saturday.

The Highlanders are led by Rayven Johnson. The senior guard is averaging team highs of 18.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-best 47.0 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Sarah Olson is averaging 11.4 points per game and is shooting 43.9 percent (22-of-51) from three-point range.

The Knights and the Highlanders will be meeting for the seventh time in the all-time series, which dates back to the 2006-07 season. Both sides have played each other the last six seasons, with FDU holding a 4-2 edge. The Knights won the first two contests before NJIT took the middle two. However, FDU has won the last two, including a 68-57 victory at NJIT last season. Five players scored in double figures with Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) and Pankey leading the way with 16 points apiece. Pankey added five rebounds, while Livermore picked up a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Following the game against NJIT, FDU will hit the road for a contest against in-state rival Saint Peter's on Saturday, Dec. 8. Tipoff in Jersey City, N.J. is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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