Montclair, NJ (2/15/06) – Sophomore forward MICHELLE MADEJ and junior forward STEPHANIE MACHIN each scored 11 points as Montclair State clinched second place and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NJAC Tournament with a 47-37 win over The College of New Jersey in NJAC Women's Basketball action on Wednesday evening.

The win boosted the Red Hawks to 13-4 in NJAC play, one-game ahead of the Lions with one game remaining. Should the teams finish tied, MSU would take second by virtue of a tiebreaker. The Red Hawks will host a semifinal matchup in the NJAC Tournament on Wednesday, February 22. The win was also the 600th in the history of Montclair State women's basketball. Montclair is now 600-309 in 36 seasons.

Sara Best had a game-high 18 points for the Lions, who will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Lions will host a first-round game on Monday, February 20 against an opponent yet to be determined.

In a rough and tumble first half, Montclair State, which led wire-to-wire, held a 25-20 advantage despite making only 8-of-33 attempts from field. MSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Machin, CYNTHIA WARRINGTON each hit baskets and Madej sank a pair of free throws. A jumper by Madej put Montclair in front 11-6, however Best cut the lead to three with a layup at 10:49.

The Red Hawks then scored the next seven points as Madej drained a three and JESSICA HORAN hit two free throws before Machin scored on a layp to give the Red Hawks an 18-8 lead with 9:29 to play before halftime. New Jersey would come back to tie the game at 20-20 on a layup by Breanne Depken with 1:59 left. MSU then closed out the half with five straight – a free throw by FERIN CATLETT and jumpers by Madej and AMANDA MULLANEY.

In the second half, Montclair scored seven of the first nine points to push its lead back to double digits as Machin's jumper with 16:18 to play made the score 32-22. A three-pointer by MEGHAN KELLEY gave MSU its largest lead at 42-27 with 7:25 to play. New Jersey would only get as close as 10 the rest of the way.

JESSICA GARRABRANT had a game-high 13 rebounds for MSU, which held a decided advantage at the free throw line. The Red Hawks were 13-of-19 at the charity stripe while TCNJ managed just one in four attempts. Madej had seven rebounds and Machin five. Catlett and Warrington each chipped in with five points.

Danica Miller had six points and six rebounds for TCNJ, which shot just 35 percent (18-of-51) from the field overall, including 0-of-9 from three-point range. The Lions were also outrebounded 43-35, including 16-8 on the offensive glass. Frank grabbed nine rebounds.

Both teams close out their NJAC slates on Saturday. Montclair State will visit Kean University at 1:00 pm while TCNJ returns home to Packer Hall for a 3:00 pm matchup with New Jersey City University.