Raining 3s @ NJIT Preview

The FGCU women's basketball team (15-4, 6-0 A-SUN) will go on a brief road trip and fly three hours to Newark, New Jersey as they prepare to face NJIT (5-14, 2-5 A-SUN) at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center on Tuesday night, January 29 at 7 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a 80-48 win over UNF Sunday afternoon. This was their second straight game with 80 or more points (first vs Lipscomb on 1/22) and their 10th overall game. In addition, the Eagles' win completed their first sweep in conference this season over UNF and ninth overall.

So far the Eagles are still in first in the conference standings and are the only unbeaten team in the A-SUN.

Key Players:
Offensively, junior Nasrin Ulel and redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles set the path for the Eagles.

Ulel is averaging 14.8 points per game. Against UNF, Ulel had 13 points and was 3 of 7 from behind the arc.

Jewett-Giles is averaging 13.1 points and 3.1 assists per game. Jewett-Giles had 16 points and a season-high seven assists against UNF.

After falling into a slump the past three games since her injury against North Alabama, redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan finally found her groove against Lipscomb where she finished with 15 points all from the 3-point line. The reigning FGCU Scholar-Athlete of the Month is averaging 8.2 points.

Redshirt Davion Wingate is averaging 7.2 points per game. Against UNF, Wingate finished with six points.

The Empress of Assists:
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka has done wonder as her new role of the "Empress of Assists". Zderadicka is averaging 9.2 points and 3.8 assists per game. Against UNF, Zderadicka had eight points and three assists. Zderadicka currently has 324 career assists, which include the 152 assists with Houston Baptist.

The Rebound Queens:
As far as rebounding, leading the way for the Eagles in the category are junior Tytionia Adderly and redshirt senior Destiny Washington.

Adderly is averaging 5.8 points and eight rebounds per game. Adderly had 10 points and seven rebounds against UNF (one offensive, six defensive). Adderly has 293 career offensive rebounds and is 37 shy of passing Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) as the all-time leader while for defensive rebounds, she has 418 in her career as she tied Adrianne McNally (418, 2002-04) for fourth all-time. She needs one to pass McNally and three to pass Courtney Chihil (420, 2008-12) for third all-time.

In overall rebounds, Adderly became the third Eagle to reach 700 career rebounds and has 711 (3rd all-time). Adderly trails Whitney Knight (735, 2011-12, 2013-16) and needs 25 to pass Knight for 2nd all-time. In addition, Adderly eclipsed 500 career points and now sits at 508.

Meanwhile, Washington is averaging 7.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Loyola Chicago/Ball State transfer had two points and four rebounds against Lipscomb. Washington reached 600 career rebounds and currently has 612.

Milestones:
Zderadicka, Washington and Wingate continue to trend toward 1,000 points in their NCAA careers (Zderadicka, 966; Washington, 924; Wingate, 764), but additionally Jewett-Giles is also on track as she has 750 in her career.

Scouitng NJIT:
The Highlanders are entering the contest at home on a three-game losing skid after losses to Jacksonville (61-56), Stetson (74-48) and most recently North Alabama (77-54), however, they currently sit in sixth behind Liberty, which is their second best since joining the A-SUN.

Leading the way for the Highlanders offensively is senior Kelly Guarino and redshirt junior Danielle Tunstall.

Guarino is averaging 14.1 points per game and is leading the team in 3-pointers made (57). Against North Alabama, the native of Thiells, New York was held to four points.

Tunstall is averaging 11.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Against North Alabama, the native of Willingboro, New Jersey had 19 points and nine rebounds.

Sophomore Ellyn Stoll, junior Milena Bajic and redshirt junior Tatianna Torres also play key roles for the Highlanders.

Stoll is averaging 8.3 points and 2.3 assists per game. She finished with seven points against North Alabama.

Bajic is averaging 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Against North Alabama, the native of Podogorica, Montenegro who transferred from Memphis had two points and four rebounds.

Torres is averaging 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Against North Alabama, Torres had five points.

Series History:
The Eagles are 9-0 overall against the Highlanders. Last series, the Eagles swept the Highlanders at home (90-66) and on the road (89-43) before completing the sweep in the A-SUN Conference Tournament Quarterfinals (83-62).

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air on ESPN+. Commentary will be done by play-by-play commentator Mike Ventola and color commentator Dave Calloway.

Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB

NJIT: @NJITWBB

ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.

Livestats Link: https://www.njithighlanders.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

ESPN+ Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/c9390fb5-3472-452a-9fd3-267931905804/florida-gulf-coast-vs-njit

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