Purchase, NY (12/5/07) – Sophomore guard JACKIE BERRY (Tuckerton, NJ / Pinelands Regional) scored 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field as Montclair State shot 57 percent for the game as the Red Hawks posted a 69-58 win over Manhattanville College on Wednesday evening. The win was MSU's second straight as it improved to 5-2 on the season.

Montclair State scored the game's first 11 points and shot 57.4% from the field, leading from start to finish while also snapping Manhattanville's four-game winning streak.

AMY BONK (Edison, NJ / JP Stevens), who finished with eight points in the game, opened the scoring for MSU and Berry followed with her first points of the game before CATHERINE CRISTINO (Farmingdale, NJ / Colts Neck) collected five straight points as Montclair led 9-0. Berry capped off the game-opening run with her second bucket as Montclair State was up 11 just 4:41 into the game.

The Red Hawks led by as many as 15 in the first half and went into the break with a 13-point lead.  Manhattanville made just 7-of-32 (21.9%) first half field goals and watched the the Red Hawks buried 14-of-25 (56.0%) shots.

Jess Delagrange (Canton, Ohio) sparked Manhattanville's second half charge with six quick points, and with 15:24 left in the game the margin was back down to six.  Three minutes later, Olivia Nastasi (Cold Spring, N.Y.) knocked in a pair of free throws to shrink the lead to four at 40-36, but the Red Hawks scored the next nine points – including five in a row from KISANDRA AYANBEKU (Burlington, MA / Randolph) to start the stretch – and never looked back.

Delagrange finished with a season-high 16 points in 31 minutes to pace the Valiants, reaching double-figures for the first time all season.  Fellow junior Nastasi also hit double-figures for the first time, registering 13 points and chipping in a team-high five assists and four rebounds.  Cyntrell Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) narrowly missed her first double-double of the year, scoring nine points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds, six offensive.

Cristino led Montclair State with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with Ayanbeku adding 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench in 19 minutes.  Berry added four assists and four steals in the win.  The Red Hawks were picked near the top of the New Jersey Athletic Conference and have had their way with the Freedom Conference this year, beating Arcadia, King's (Pa.) – the defending Freedom champs and preseason pick to repeat – and now the Valiants.

The Red Hawks shot well over 50% in each half and knocked in 3-of-6 three-point attempts.  The Valiants, meanwhile, battled back to shoot 50% in the second half but still finished the game at just 35.5% from the floor, and 1-of-8 from three-point range.  Montclair State held a slim rebounding edge (37-35), despite Manhattanville's 22-13 advantage on the offensive glass.

Each team struggled with possession during the game, combining for 31 turnovers in the first half and 47 in the game.  The Valiants scored 28 points off 26 Red Hawk turnovers, but turned it over 21 times themselves, leading to 24 Montclair State points.

The Red Hawks return to action on Saturday, December 8 as MSU opens New Jersey Athletic Conference play with a road contest at Richard Stockton beginning at 2:00 pm.