New Jersey Institute of Technology Women's Basketball

Mike Lane will enter his ninth season at the helm of the NJIT women’s basketball program in 2026-27 after leading the Highlanders through one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2025-26. NJIT advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the first time ever and earned the program’s first postseason victory with a win at Merrimack on March 19. The Highlanders made their first postseason appearance in the Division I era and second overall (2004-05 ECAC Tournament), while setting a new program record with 19 overall victories, surpassing the previous mark of 18 set in 2004-05. NJIT also established a program-best 10 road wins, tied the school record with nine America East Conference victories, and posted nine non-conference wins — the most in the Division I era.  The 2025-26 season also featured several historic individual and team milestones. Alejandra Zuniga became NJIT’s all-time leading scorer on January 17 at Bryant, set the program’s single-season scoring record with 39 points at UMBC on January 1, 2026 and capped her career with 1,741 career points. Allison Cannon recorded the first triple-double (14pts, 11ast, 10reb) in the NJIT Division I era and third in program history. NJIT’s win over Saint Peter’s on November 19 marked the program’s largest margin of victory since 2012 and helped spark the best start in school history at 5-1. The Highlanders also drew a record-setting Education Day crowd of 2,326 against UMass Lowell. Lane was named the 12th head women’s basketball coach in program history in May 2018. In 2024-25, the Highlanders recorded their fourth straight double-figure win total, finishing with 11 victories and eight America East wins, one shy of the program record. Freshman Olivia Kulyk was named the 2025 America East Rookie of the Year, earned Third Team All-Conference honors, and was selected to the All-Rookie Team. Alejandra Zuniga garnered First Team All-Conference honors, while Trinity Williams earned a spot on the America East All-Defensive Team. In 2023-24, the Highlanders totaled 13 wins and finished 8-8 in America East play, placing fifth in the conference standings. Freshman Alejandra Zuniga was selected America East Rookie of the Year, becoming the first NJIT women’s basketball player to earn the honor. In his fourth season at the helm, Lane guided the Highlanders to one of the most successful seasons in the NJIT Division I era, concluding the 2021-22 campaign with a 15-15 overall record. The 15 victories marked the second-highest win total since NJIT transitioned to Division I in 2006-07, while the Highlanders also established a then-program record with eight road wins. Picked eighth in the 2021-22 America East Preseason Coaches Poll, NJIT exceeded expectations by recording a program-best nine conference wins and earning the No. 4 seed in the America East Championship. The Highlanders hosted their first-ever America East quarterfinal game on March 5, 2022, defeating UMass Lowell 47-33 for the program’s first America East postseason victory. Lane came to NJIT after spending six seasons at Bucknell University as the top assistant coach, helping guide the Bison to a program-best 27-6 record, a Patriot League championship, and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2017. During his tenure at Bucknell, Lane helped the Bison produce three consecutive 20-win seasons, compile a 48-6 Patriot League record over a three-year span, capture a share of the regular season conference title, and earn two WNIT appearances (2015, 2018). In 2015, Bucknell captured the first postseason victory in program history. Prior to Bucknell, Lane served as head coach at Division III Dominican University, where he compiled a 69-61 overall record over five seasons. In 2011, Lane was named Northern Athletics Conference Coach of the Year after leading Dominican to a school-record 20-win season, the program’s first NAC South Division title, and a national ranking of 17th in scoring offense at 74.1 points per game. The following season, Dominican posted a 19-9 record, captured its second consecutive NAC South Division title, advanced to the NAC Tournament Championship game for the first time in school history, and set a program record with 218 three-point field goals, ranking seventh nationally in NCAA Division III. Lane began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Chicago in 2005 as an assistant coach. During his time at Chicago, the program compiled a 35-15 overall record, including a perfect 22-0 mark in non-conference play. Lane helped guide the Maroons to their first-ever No. 1 national ranking in the USA Today/ESPN poll during the 2006-07 season and contributed to a school-record 16-game winning streak. The 2006-07 team also set school records for rebounds in a season, ranked fourth nationally in rebounding margin (+10.8), and finished 24th nationally in field goal percentage defense (33.9 percent). Lane’s first coaching experience came at the high school level as the boys’ varsity assistant coach at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago from 2003-05. A 1993 graduate of University of Notre Dame, Lane earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing.   (Updated May 2026)

Payce Lange will enter her fifth season on the NJIT women’s basketball coaching staff in 2026-27, having joined the program in June 2022 following a successful early coaching career that included a national championship and collegiate playing accolades at the Division I and III levels. During the 2025-26 season, NJIT advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the first time ever and earned the program’s first postseason victory with a win at Merrimack on March 19. The Highlanders made their first postseason appearance in the Division I era and second overall (2004-05 ECAC Tournament), while setting a new program record with 19 overall victories, surpassing the previous mark of 18 set in 2004-05. NJIT also established a program-best 10 road wins, tied the school record with nine America East Conference victories, and posted nine non-conference wins — the most in the Division I era. Lange came to NJIT after a standout season at D’Youville in Buffalo, New York, where she served as interim head coach during the 2021-22 season and guided the program to its first-ever National Title in the USCAA Division I Championship. That season followed a 15-12 campaign in D’Youville’s first year of NCAA Division II competition, during which she coached three All-American student-athletes in Sara Pfeiffer, Anna Jankovic, and Stella Mollica. She began her collegiate coaching career in 2020-21 as a graduate assistant at D’Youville, where she assisted with practice planning, player development, and game management responsibilities. A four-year standout at Kean University from 2017-20, Lange concluded her playing career as one of the program’s most decorated athletes. In her senior season, she earned D3hoops.com All-American honors, was named NJAC Player of the Year, and received D3hoops Atlantic Region Player of the Year recognition. Lange finished her collegiate career ranked 33rd nationally in Division III in scoring at 19.2 points per game, while also averaging 6.7 rebounds and 2.58 steals per game. She reached 1,221 career points, becoming the 20th player in Kean history to surpass the 1,000-point milestone. In addition to her on-court success, Lange was a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team selection. She earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in business marketing from Kean University, graduating magna cum laude in May 2020, and completed her Master of Business Administration at D’Youville University in May 2022.   Updated May 2026

Colleen Moriarty joined the NJIT women’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2022 and enters her fifth season at NJIT. Since arriving in Newark, Moriarty has played an integral role in the continued development of the Highlanders program, helping mentor multiple all-conference performers and contributing to NJIT’s rise within the America East Conference. During the 2025-26 season, NJIT advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the first time ever and earned the program’s first postseason victory with a win at Merrimack on March 19. The Highlanders made their first postseason appearance in the Division I era and second overall (2004-05 ECAC Tournament), while setting a new program record with 19 overall victories, surpassing the previous mark of 18 set in 2004-05. NJIT also established a program-best 10 road wins, tied the school record with nine America East Conference victories, and posted nine non-conference wins — the most in the Division I era. Prior to NJIT, Moriarty spent six seasons at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. With Moriarty on staff, Saint Anselm appeared in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament five times in six seasons, including two appearances in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship (2018-19, 2019-20). The 2018-19 season culminated with the program’s first-ever NCAA Division II East Region title and a trip to the Elite Eight. Moriarty helped develop all-time leading scorer Peyton Steinman (‘22), who finished her career with 1,781 points and earned 2022 NE10 Player of the Year honors. She also coached Shannon Ryan (‘20), a 2020 Division II All-American and NE10 Player of the Year who totaled 1,769 career points. Prior to joining the Saint Anselm staff, Moriarty served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UMass Boston for two seasons (2014-15, 2015-16). At UMass Boston, she worked closely with the program’s post players, helping develop Kirsten Morrison (‘15) and Olivia Murphy (‘16), both of whom earned All-East Region and All-Little East Conference honors while surpassing 1,000 career points. Moriarty began her coaching career in 2013-14 as an assistant coach for the Bay State Monarchs 16U AAU program and as an assistant girls varsity basketball coach at Canton High School. A 2013 graduate of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing, Moriarty also earned her Master of Science in Sport Management from Southern New Hampshire University. A four-year member of the women’s basketball team at UMass Dartmouth, Moriarty concluded her collegiate career with 1,219 points. She was named the 2013 Little East Conference Player of the Year — the first player in program history to earn the honor — and received All-Northeast Region recognition from the New England Women’s Basketball Association and D3hoops.com, in addition to ECAC First Team All-Star honors. A three-year team captain, Moriarty led the Corsairs to the program’s first 20-win season during her senior campaign while averaging 19.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. She was inducted into the UMass Dartmouth Corsair Hall of Fame in 2021. Following her collegiate career, Moriarty played for the Brockton Lady Thunder, a semi-professional basketball team in Massachusetts, during the 2013-14 season. Updated May 2026