Montclair, NJ (02/19/04) – Sophomore forward STEPHANIE MACHIN led all players with 20 points as the Montclair State University women's basketball team closed out the 2004-05 regular season with a 72-54 victory over visiting Kean University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest today at Panzer Gymnasium. MSU, now 15-10 overall, finished fourth in the NJAC with a 9-7 conference record, while Kean fell to 8-17 on the year and ended up 5-11 in league play.

The host Red Hawks took the lead for good just 4:22 into the contest en route to a 39-25 halftime advantage, and led by as many as 29 points in the second half in sweeping the season series from Kean and defeating the Cougars for the third time in their last four meetings. Machin went 6-for-8 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line in leading MSU in scoring for the 14th time this winter, while notching 20 or more points for the sixth time this season. She also recorded four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Junior forward AMANDA MULLANEY collected 13 points for Montclair, while junior guard SHIKEENA LYNARD and sophomore forward FERIN CATLETT topped MSU with seven rebounds apiece. Freshman forward Chari' Cooper led Kean with 19 points and added seven rebounds and three steals, while classmate Allison Summerset notched 10 points and four assists and senior center Danielle Moseley grabbed nine rebounds.

The Red Hawks will now host Rowan University this Tuesday, Feb. 22, at Panzer Gym at 7 p.m. in the first round of the 2005 NJAC Tournament. The Red Hawks defeated the Profs twice this year, 69-50 in Glassboro on Jan. 10 and 78-64 in Montclair exactly three weeks later. Rowan grabbed the fifth seed by defeating Rutgers-Newark today, 81-56.