Manhattan Concludes Five-Game Road Trip at NJIT

Manhattan-NJIT Game Notes

GAMEDAY
The Jaspers (1-3) conclude their season-opening five-game road trip this afternoon with a visit to NJIT (3-1).  It's the first time that the Jaspers and Highlanders are ever meeting in Newark.  Manhattan is coming off a 58-43 loss at Army last Wednesday, while NJIT topped Delaware State 65-49 in its last outing.  The Highlanders have won two straight, including a 68-65 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 19.  Up next, the Jaspers begin their home schedule with the annual "Battle of the Bronx" matchup against Fordham on Wednesday.

THE MANHATTAN JASPERS
Manhattan (1-3) looks to bounce back after dropping a 58-43 decision at Army on Wednesday.  Sophomore guard/forward Monica Roeder, the current MAAC Player of the Week, leads the team and ranks third in the conference in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game.  Roeder paces the MAAC with 3.3 three-pointers per game and is second in the league in three-point percentage (.520).  Senior forward Lindsey Loutsenhizer, who tallied 21 points against Army, contributes 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing, while senior guard/forward Schyanne Halfkenny is the Jaspers' leading rebounder with 6.0 boards per contest.  Halfkenny also notches 2.0 steals per game.  Junior guard Maggie Blair hands out a team-best 4.0 assists per contest, and senior forward Nadia Peters ranks third in the MAAC with 1.5 blocks per game.  This is the final contest of the Jaspers' season-opening five-game road trip.

THE NJIT HIGHLANDERS
NJIT (3-1), which opened the season with three straight at home, picked up a victory in its first road contest, 65-49 at Delaware State on Wednesday night.  The Highlanders have won two straight overall.  Three Highlanders average double-digits in the scoring column, led by freshman guard/forward Sarah Olson's 11.8 points per game.  Olson also ranks second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.8 boards per contest.  Junior guard Rayven Johnson contributes 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per outing, while sophomore forward Uju Nwanko averages 10.0 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game.  Freshman guard Denisa Domiterova paces the Highlanders in assists, distributing 2.7 per outing, while junior guard Melanie Griffin notches a team-best 2.3 steals per game.  Freshman center Nicole Maticka posted a school-record eight blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 16 and averages 3.5 blocks per contest.

SERIES HISTORY
Manhattan and NJIT met for the first time last season, with the Jaspers posting a 62-48 victory at Draddy Gymnasium.  The sides have never played in Newark.  Last year's matchup also marked the first time that Manhattan took on a team from the Great West Conference.  While the women's series is still fairly new, the Manhattan and NJIT men's teams have opened the last five seasons against each other.

LAST TIME OUT
A 27-5 Army run over the final 10 minutes of the first half proved to be the difference on Wednesday night, as the Jaspers dropped a 58-43 decision to the Black Knights at Christl Arena.  Manhattan led 14-10 with 10:44 remaining in the first half, but Army scored the next six points to go in front.  After a jumper by Allison Skrec, Army outscored Manhattan 17-3 over the remainder of the half to take a 37-19 lead into the locker room.  The Black Knights' advantage reached a game-high 21 points with 8:14 left before a 9-3 spurt by the Jaspers trimmed the margin to 15, 55-40, with 3:15 remaining.  However, Manhattan would pull no closer, and Army held on for a 58-43 victory.  Lindsey Loutsenhizer led the Jaspers with 21 points, while Nadia Peters grabbed a team-high six rebounds.