Newark, NJ (11/26/02) - Freshman center EBONY ALLEN (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson HS) had 16 points and nine rebounds and senior forward JASMINE BATTS (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) and 17 points and three steals to lead Montclair State (3-0, NJAC 1-0) to a 58-41 New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball victory over Rutgers-Newark (1-2, NJAC 0-1) in The Golden Dome.

The Red Hawks held Rutgers-Newark scoreless for nearly six and a half minutes late in the first half while reeling off seven points to take a 21-11 lead. Senior forward STEPHANIE CROLEY (Plainfield, NJ/Piscataway) capped the run with a pair of free throws with 1:50 left in the half. After a pair of free throws by Quinonez with 1:20 left, MSU got layups from Batts and Allen to forge a 25-13 halftime advantage.

With freshman guard Nicole Torres (Fairview, NJ/Cliffside Park) getting a pair of free throws and a 3-point jumper and Quinonez hitting a layup at 9:33 in the second half, the Raiders ran off seven straight points to cut the Red Hawk lead to 33-27.

But a conventional 3-point play by junior guard VANESSA DEFREITAS (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) started a 13-4 run which was capped by a 3-point jumper by senior guard ERIN SCHULTZ (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) with 3:38 left, giving the Red Hawks a comfortable 54-37 lead.

Croley finished with nine rebounds and five assists for MSU while Torres tallied nine points and eight rebounds for the Raiders.