Erie, PA (12/12/03) - Sophomore forward
EBONY ALLEN (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Montclair State remained unbeaten with a 75-71 victory over Grove City in the opening round of the Winter Classic held at Penn State-Behrend on Friday evening.
PAM BARONE (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa Academy) added 15 points, four assists and four steals as the Red Hawks improved to 7-0 on the season. MSU will face host PSU-Behrend in the championship game on Saturday, December 13 at 3:00 pm. Behrend defeated Hilbert, 64-47.
Jocelyn Kempema finished with 15 points for Grove City (3-3), while Sandy O'Keefe had 14 and seven rebounds. Grove City will face Hilbert in the Consolation Game at 1:00 pm.
Montclair State, which is off to its best start since the 1990-91 campaign, overcame a seven-point halftime deficit as it turned around a struggling shooting performance. MSU shot just 35 pecent from the floor and 37 percent at the charity stripe, but rebounded by going 14-of-27 (51 percent) from the field and 18-of-23 (78 percent) in the final 20 minutes.
The Red Hawks trailed 36-29 at halftime and fell behind by 12 a minute into the second half as Grove City's Abby Moose sank a three pointer for a 41-29 lead. However, MSU went on a 14-4 run over the next four-plus minutes to pull within two.
SHIKEENA LYNARD (Carney's Point, NJ/Penns Grove) scored four points in the run as her short jumper made the score, 45-43.
Leigh LeGare scored to put Grove City up by four, but MSU responded scoring the next seven to take its first lead since the early portion of the first half. Barone scored on a three-point play to give Montclair at 48-47 advantage and
DYETTE DILLARD (Willingboro, NJ/Willingboro) added a basket for a a three-point MSU lead at 50-47. A layup by Moose tied the game at 50-50 with 9:43 left, however, Allen asnwered on the next possession to put Montclair State in front the rest of the way.
Grove City would get within a point twice more in the contest and trailed 65-63 with 4:16 to play as Missy Wadowsky hit two free throws. However,
STEPHANIE MACHIN (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) scored consecutive baskets to restore the lead to six at 69-63 with 2:35 to go.
VANESSA DEFREITAS (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Red Hawks while freshman center Machin contributed with 11 points and four rebounds for the Red Hawks.
