Atlanta, GA (11/16/07) – Sophomore CATHERINE CRISTINO (Farmingdale, NJ / Colts Neck) scored a career high 20 points and paced four players in double figures as Montclair State opened its 2007-08 campaign with a 72-67 victory over Sewanee in the Emory University Tip-Off Tournament on Friday evening.

Senior guard JESSICA GARRABRANT (Denville, NJ / Morris Knolls) added 14 points and seven rebounds as the Red Hawks (1-0) advance to the championship game against host Emory on Saturday, November 17 at 8:00 pm. The victory by MSU was the first for interim head coach Karin Harvey, who took over the program in September. Harvey spent two seasons as an assistant with Montclair before spending last season as the head coach at Drew University.

Montclair trailed briefly in the game and was behind 6-5 when JACKIE BERRY (Tuckerton, NJ / Pinelands Regional) scored on a layup with 14:06 to play that ignited a 17-5 run over the next seven minutes. Cristino added a layup and JESSICA HORAN (West Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland) sank a three-pointer to make the score, 12-6. After a Sewanee free throw, KISANDRA AYANBEKU (Burlington, MA / Randolph) had a layup and a three-pointer by Garrabrant gave the Red Hawks a 17-9 lead with 7:44 left. Cristino would add a three-pointer before Horan capped the spurt with a layup as Montclair led 22-12 with 7:12 to go.

Sewanee would close the gap getting within 27-26 with 1:09 left as Steffi Renninger hit two free throws. But Berry sank a jumper 10 seconds later as MSU led by three at halftime.

In the second half, Horan finished off a fast break to put the MSU lead to 34-26 lead, but again Sewanee trimmed the lead to 38-34 on a three-pointer by Acacia Mack. The Red Hawks responded with an 8-0 run, six by Garrabrant, who converted to conventional three-point plays as Montclair led 46-34 with 12:26 remaining. Sewanee would get as close as five in the final minute, however Horan and Garrabrant went a combined 4-for-4 at the line to close out the game.

Horan finished with 12 poins while Berry added 10 along with four assists and two steals. MSU shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field, including 16-of-27 (59 percent) in the second half which offset a rebounding margin of 43-24 in favor of Sewanee.