Upper Montclair, NJ (2/12/03) - Senior forward Cheryl Kulesa (Clementon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) scored 39 points -- 23 in the second half -- and pulled down 19 rebounds as Rutgers-Camden used a strong second half to pull away and defeat Montclair State, 74-56 in New Jersey Athletic Conference Women's Basketball action at Panzer Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

Freshman Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Scarlet Raptors (16-6, 9-6 NJAC), who remained in the hunt in the NJAC Playoff race.

Senior center JASMINE BATTS (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) had 13 points and nine rebounds for Montclair State (12-9, 7-8 NJAC), which was swept in the season series by Rutgers-Camden. MSU has dropped two straight following a four-game winning streak.

Kulesa, who also added six steals, had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first half as the Scarlet Raptors took a 37-30 halftime lead. Rutgers-Camden led 22-15 with 8:07 before the break, but Montclair came back to tie as Batts scored on a layp with 5:58 left tying the game at 24. Lisa Geiger (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester) then nailed a three-pointer to give RU-C a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

In the second half, MSU trailed by seven following ERIN SCHULTZ' (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) three-pointer as the Scarlet Raptors led 51-44 with 9:10 remaining. But Rutgers-Camden embarked on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to put the game away. Kulesa had eight points in the run as the lead grew to 66-46 with 3:06 left in the game.

Rutgers-Camden outrebounded Montclair State, 47-45, including 27 on the offensive glass. The Scarlet Raptors also made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line convertine 19-of-24 attempts, including 13-of-14 by Kulesa.

Freshman EBONY ALLEN (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) had eight points and nine rebounds for the Red Hawks, who shot just 25 percent over the final 20 minutes. Montclair State also committed 27 turnovers.

The win by Rutgers-Camden, swept the season series with the Red Hawks. The Scarlet Raptors won the first meeting at Camden in December, 77-61.