Montclair , NJ (11/27/07) – Junior guard Meredith Paggi (Wappingers Falls, NY/ Our Lady of Lourdes) scored 12 of her 20 points in the second half as Mount St. Mary College used a 12-2 run early in the first half en route to a 75-52 victory over Montclair State in NCAA Division III Women's Basketball action at Panzer Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.
Sophomore guard Catie Biordi (Beacon, NY/ Beacon) added 11 points while Vanessa Lawson (Kingston, NY/Kingston) had eight points and 10 rebounds as the Knights remained unbeaten (4-0) while also taking a 3-2 lead in the series between the two teams.
Sophomore forward
CATHERINE CRISTINO ( Farmingdale, NJ / Colts Neck) had 13 points for Montclair State, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Red Hawks fell to 3-2 on the year with the loss.
Montclair State led 2-0 just 11 seconds into the game as
JACKIE BERRY ( Tuckerton, NJ / Pinelands Regional) scored on a layup, however Mt. St. Mary would score 12 of the next 14 points to take control. Shannon Sangster ( Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) tied the game and Jackie Markert ( Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) connected on a short jumper to give the Knights the lead for good at 4-2. Lawson finished off a break, and after Cristino countered for MSU, Paggi capped off another break as Mt. St. Mary went up 8-4 with 16 minutes to go. Paggi would add two free throws before Lawson completed the run with a layup as the Knights led 12-4.
Montclair State would get the lead back to within three several times over a 10-minute span, the last coming at 22-19 as Cristino sank the second of two foul shots. But Chantel Anthony (Middletown, NY/Middletown) converted a three-point play as Sangster and Paggi each added layups as the Knights boosted the lead to 31-21 with 3:51 left in the opening period and took a 35-25 halftime advantage.
Paggi had a pair of three-pointers in the second half, including one seven seconds in as Mt. St. Mary increased the lead to 13 points. A layup by Cristino got Montclair back to 40-29, but Paggi and LaSehila Augustin ( Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream Central) countered with backs as Montclair State got no closer the rest of the way.
Markert and Sangster each finished with eight points as the two combined on 11 rebounds. Anthony had seven points and seven assists as the Knigths shot 15-of-29 (52 percent) in the second half and finished at 49 percent (31-of-63) for the game, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc.
Jessica Garrabant (Denville, NJ / Morris Knolls) had seven points and five rebounds while sophomore
KISANDRA AYANBEKU (Burlington, MA / Randolph) added six points, a team-best eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Both teams are back in action this Thursday, November 29. Montclair State plays host to King's College (PA) at Panzer Gymnasium beginning a 6:00 pm while the Knights return home to face another NJAC foe in William Paterson University. That contest in Newburgh, NY tips off at 7:00 pm.
