Pomona, NJ (12/8/07) – Sophomore forward CATHERINE CRISTINO (right) scored a team-leading 16 points and added five rebounds, however the Montclair State women's basketball team dropped its NJAC opener on Saturday with a 65-61 loss at Richard Stockton.

Lisa Neira (Cresskill/Cresskill) led the Ospreys with a game-high 20 points and Jenn Russell (Scotch Plains/SP-Fanwood) registered 13 points and three blocks. Alyssa Reiter (Sewell/Gloucester Catholic) added a career-high 10 points and six rebounds for Stockton.

JESSICA GARRABRANT (Denville/Morris Knolls) notched a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. JACKIE BERRY (Tuckerton/Pinelands) also netted 10 points for the Red Hawks, who had their two-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 5-3 overall. MARIANNE MCGOVERN (Fair Lawn, NJ / Paramus Catholic) and KISANDRA AYANBEKU (Burlington, MA/Randolph) each had nine points for Montclair.

Montclair State led 25-24 after a first half in which the lead changed sides four times. Russell topped all players with nine first-half points for Stockton. In the second half, Montclair State led 48-46 with 9:19 left after a lay-up by AMY BONK (Edison/JP Stevens) . Cehara Wellington (Cherry Hill/Cherry Hill East) then scored seven consecutive points, her only points of the game, to propel Stockton to a 53-48 lead that it would not relinquish.

Stockton later boosted its lead to six after a layup by Niera made the score 59-53. Montclair pulled within 61-59 on a layup by Berry with 53 seconds left, but Reiter grabbed an offensive rebound and made the put-back give the Ospreys a 63-59 lead with 26 seconds to play. Niera then hit a pair of free-throws for a six-point cushion and Stockton went on to the 65-61 win.

The Red Hawks are now off for the next three weeks returning to action on Saturday, December 29 as they host Wesleyan University (CT) at Panzer Gymnasium. Tipoff is slated for 6:00 pm.