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01/14 03:43 CST Zuniga and NJIT host UMass Lowell Zuniga and NJIT host UMass Lowell By The Associated Press UMass Lowell River Hawks (6-11, 0-4 America East) at NJIT Highlanders (11-6, 2-2 America East) Newark, New Jersey; Thursday, 11 a.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: NJIT hosts UMass Lowell after Alejandra Zuniga scored 22 points in NJIT's 86-67 loss to the Maine Black Bears. The Highlanders have gone 5-3 in home games. NJIT is fifth in the America East with 9.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Ava Locklear averaging 2.2. The River Hawks have gone 0-4 against America East opponents. UMass Lowell ranks seventh in the America East shooting 29.8% from 3-point range. NJIT makes 45.3% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.4 percentage points higher than UMass Lowell has allowed to its opponents (41.9%). UMass Lowell has shot at a 39.6% rate from the field this season, the same as opponents of NJIT have averaged. The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play. TOP PERFORMERS: Locklear is averaging 9.5 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Highlanders. Olivia Kulyk is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Sabrina Larsson is shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the River Hawks, while averaging 9.3 points. Jaini Edmonds is averaging 15 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Highlanders: 5-5, averaging 67.5 points, 33.6 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.3 points per game. River Hawks: 3-7, averaging 61.9 points, 30.8 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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