LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (2-18, 1-9 AE) returns to action with another road game to close out the week. The River Hawks will travel to Newark to take on the NJIT Highlanders (10-11, 5-4 AE) on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center.
 
February 4 at NJIT (ESPN3 --3 p.m.)
 
Watch | Live Stats | International Feed | Game Notes
 
All-Time Series: UMass Lowell is 4-5 against NJIT in program history.
 
First Meeting:      March 3, 2014 (NJIT, 87-75)
Last Meeting:       January 1, 2023 (NJIT, 60-56)
 
The River Hawks and Highlanders meet for the 10th time in program history. NJIT won the previous meeting this season 60-56 in overtime in Lowell.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks fell to 1-9 in conference play on Wednesday night after a hard-fought 57-49 battle at UAlbany. Jaini Edmonds tied her career-high with 18 points, leading the River Hawks in scoring. Kaylen Banwareesingh recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds on the night. Jaliena Sanchez scored nine points and dished out a team-high five assists. Ivory Finley and Amaya Dowdy combined to score 10 points in the loss.
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
NJIT holds a 5-4 mark in conference play and sits in fifth place in the league entering Saturday's game. The Highlanders have relied on Alejandra Zuniga to lead the offense, with the freshman averaging a team-high 11.3 points per game. Aria Myers, Kenna Squier and Trinity Williams all average roughly nine points a game, giving the Highlanders a balanced offense. Squier leads the team with 28 steals through 21 games this season and Williams has a team-high 28 blocks. NJIT broke a two-game losing skid against Vermont and Bryant after a 70-67 win over New Hampshire on Wednesday night.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would be a fifth win over NJIT in program history. A win would also snap a three-game losing skid for the River Hawks.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Jaini Edmonds leads the River Hawks averaging 9.5 points per game this season. The junior has scored a team-high 189 points through 20 games. Amaya Dowdy has been a force in the paint all season, totaling 38 blocks to lead the team and the conference, averaging 1.9 per game. Kaylen Banwareesingh is shooting 40% from the field to lead the River Hawks. Jaliena Sanchez has been the main distributor for UMass Lowell, dishing out 74 assists this year, including eight against Brown and Bryant. Kaylen Banwareesingh has eclipsed 100 rebounds on the year, totaling 148 boards through 18 games to lead the team. Mili Carrera leads the team shooting 83% from the free throw line, knocking down 19 of 23 attempts.
 
WATCH THOSE HANDS
Through 20 games this season, UMass Lowell has tallied 139 steals. Jaliena Sanchez leads the team with 29 while Ivory Finley has tallied 24. Mili Carrera has 19 and Kaylen Banwareesingh, Amaya Dowdy, Ella Ner and Jaini Edmonds have tallied double digits steals. As a unit, UMass Lowell had a season-best 14 steals against Boston University.
 
CONFERENCE RANKS
The River Hawks rank first in the conference in blocks per game with 3.9 through twenty games. Amaya Dowdy leads the league averaging 1.9 blocks per game. Jaliena Sanchez sits third in the league in free throw percentage shooting 75% from the line. As a unit, UMass Lowell is fourth in the conference shooting 72% from the line. The team also is fourth in the league with 7.0 steals per game. 
 
FREE THROWS
UMass Lowell is 72% from the free throw line as a unit and fourth in the league. Jaliena Sanchez has made 50 of her 67 attempts and Ivory Finley is 48-63. Jaini Edmonds has been solid from the stripe at 23-29 and Mili Carrera is 19-23 this season.