Jersey City, NJ (2/10/07) - Montclair State University received 22 points and 14 rebounds from senior forward STEPHANIE MACHIN (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) and the Red Hawks overcame several late comeback bids by New Jersey City University, as MSU defeated NJCU, 55-47, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division contest at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

The win for Montclair (13-9, 8-3 NJAC) is its fourth straight as MSU continued to roll, winning for the eighth time in 10 outings, to move into a tie for second place in the North Division with Rutgers-Newark. NJCU dropped to 8-14 overall and 3-9 NJAC. MSU leads the all-time series, 39-3, with eight straight decisions.

Machin also moved into fifth-place on the all-time MSU scoring list as she passed Debbie Emery (1,408 points from 1982-86) for the spot. Machin, who has played in 101 games in her career has amassed 1,416 points.

In defeat, senior point guard Latrese McNair (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) moved into fifth place in Division III history with 453 career steals. She is now 15th in the history of Division I, II and III in picks and needs two more to pass legend Dawn Staley of Virginia for 14th. McNair also became NJCU's all-time leader in games started with 82, passing head coach Ashante Timoll (1996-00) on the all-time list.

Machin shot 12-of-14 from the line—making half of MSU 24 conversions (24-36). She hit 5-of-14 from the field and had 11 of her 14 boards on the defensive end. Junior guard JESSICA GARRABRANT (Denville, NJ/Morris Knolls) finished with 12 rebounds, all defensively, and four steals. Senior forward FERIN CATLETT (Lawn Side, NJ/Haddon Heights) contributed seven points and two blocks.

For NJCU, junior forward Arnese Goodman (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) notched her second straight double-double and the fifth of her career, finishing with 19 points (7-17 FG) and 11 rebounds.

Junior power forward Tiffany Boyd (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln), who ranks No. 2 in Division III in blocked shots, finished with six points, six rebounds and four rejections, extending her single-season record to 71.

NJCU led 10-8 at 9:55 of the first period before the Hawks reeled off what proved to be an insurmountable 14-2 spurt, gaining a 22-12 lead with 1:16 remaining. The Knights shot 1-of-8 from the field in that span of 8:39, and committed seven turnovers before ending the skid. Machin had eight points during the MSU streak.

Leading 22-15 at the half, Montclair moved in front by as many as 13 points (33-20) with 14:01 left. MSU still led by 11, 39-28, with 8:50 left. NJCU attempted to rally with a 9-2 spurt that cut the deficit to four, 41-37 with 6:37 on the clock, after a three-pointer by Goodman.

Free throw shooting, including three by Machin allowed MSU push to regain a nine-point, 46-37 margin with 2:53 remaining. A fast-break bucket by McNair made it 49-44 with 41 seconds left and she later converted two free throws with 20.1 on the clock as the Knights again closed within four, 51-47, before junior guard CYNTHIA WARRINGTON (Villas, NJ/Cape May Regional) and Machin converted four straight free-throws for the eight-point decision.