HACKENSACK, N.J. – Returning to New Jersey from its trip to Colorado, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team hosts local rival NJIT Tuesday night at 7 p.m., in the Rothman Center.
 
The game will be streamed live on NEC Front Row, and live stats will be available at fduknights.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (1-2) suffered an 85-37 loss in their first road game of the season at Air Force. FDU shot a season-low 21.7 percent from the floor (13-60), and the Falcons pressured the Knights into committing 25 turnovers. The 37 points was the lowest total by FDU since last season's loss at Rutgers. The Knights did make 9-of-13 free throws in the contest and forced Air Force to commit 20 turnovers as well.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
FDU leads the NEC through two weeks of play in steals per game (12.0), turnover margin (+7) and blocks per game (5.3). Freshman Makayla Thompson is the NEC leader in steals per game (2.7) and senior Natalie Zamora is right behind her with 2.0 per game. Sophomore Madison Stanley also ranks second in the NEC in blocks per game (2.0).
 
RECENT POINT MILESTONES
Seniors Natalie Zamora and Peniel M'Bikata each surpassed 400 career points in the past two games. M'Bikata reached the milestone against Lafayette by scoring nine points when she needed four, and Zamora passed the benchmark on her first basket at Air Force, finishing the night with eight points. The two seniors are two of four active Knights, along with senior Madelynn Comly and Lauren Francillon, to reach 400 career points. Comly leads all active players with 784 career points.
 
THE MARCH TO 500
As a program, the Knights are three wins away (497) from reaching 500. The team has played in a total of 1,164 games since the program began in 1977. If the Knights win out over their next three games, they will reach the 500-win milestone on Friday, November 30, in a road game at Binghamton.
 
SERIES SCORE
FDU leads the all-time series 7-4 against NJIT, with a 3-2 record in the Rothman Center and a 4-2 record when playing in Newark. The Knights have won each of the past two meetings, including last season's 74-70 victory in Newark. Comly scored 17 points to lead the Knights, and Francillon finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. NJIT did win the last time these two squads met in the Rothman Center, 68-64, back in 2014.
 
ONCE A HIGHLANDER, NOW A KNIGHT
Current Knights assistant coach Rayven Johnson played for NJIT from 2009-13. She finished her career with 1,248 points, fourth in program history, and 852 rebounds, ranking second all-time for NJIT.

SCOUTING NJIT
The Highlanders (0-4) have yet to score 60 points in starting the season on a four-game road losing skid under first-year head coach Mike Lane. Two of the four losses were to teams FDU plays later this season in Saint Peter's (Dec. 21) and the Knights' next opponent, Howard. Senior Kelly Guarino leads the team with 12.5 points per game, and junior Danielle Tunstall averages 6.8 rebounds per game to go with 10.7 points per game. The Highlanders also bring back guard Tatianna Torres, who was a Preseason ASUN All-Conference team selection, and leads the team with 11 assists this year. Last season, NJIT finished with a 4-26 overall record. The Highlanders were picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll for the ASUN.
 
AROUND THE NEC
FDU is currently in fourth place in the NEC standings through two weeks of the young season, trailing St. Francis Brooklyn (4-1), Sacred Heart (2-1) and Bryant (2-2). Two more NEC teams are in action on Tuesday, with Saint Francis U hosting Division-II Seton Hill and Bryant traveling to Boston to take on Boston University. Sacred Heart plays at Providence on Wednesday in the last NEC game before Thanksgiving.