Wayne, NJ – Senior guard
JANITZA AQUINO scored 18 points as No. 7/8 Montclair State pulled away in the second half for a 68-52 victory over William Paterson in an NJAC matchup at the WPU Rec Center on Wednesday evening.
Senior forward
MELISSA TOBIE added 16 points along with eight rebounds, four assists and five steals as the Red Hawks remained unbeaten, upping their record to 9-0 overall, 5-0 in the NJAC with their seventh straight against their local rival.
The victory also gave head coach Karin Harvey her 152
nd career win tying her with Maureen Wendelken (1976-83) as the all-time winningest coach in program history. Harvey, now in her eighth season, is 152-54 including a 66-4 mark since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
Playing for the fifth time in 10 days, Montclair never trailed in the contest and led for all but three instances, the last coming at 4-4 with 17:14 left in the opening period. Tobie drained a three igniting a 9-0 run that gave MSU a 13-4 advantage after
KATIE SIRE finished off a fastbreak with 12:48 to go.
The lead would get to 10 points however the Pioneers chipped away and tied the contest at 22-22 following a three-pointer by Jackie Rodriguez with 4:48 remaining. Montclair answered with another nine-point run led by
KAYLA CEBALLOS who had the first seven points helping the Red Hawks grab a 31-22 lead en route to a 31-26 lead at the break.
In the second half the Pioneers got within two points but back-to-back triples by
RACHAEL KRAUSS and Aquino boosted the lead back to 39-31 with 14 minutes remaining. Two free throws by Aquino pushed the lead to double digits and her three-pointer with 11:18 to play gave MSU a 46-32 advantage.
Freshman guard
KATE TOBIE added eight points and four rebounds while sophomore forward
SAGE BENNETT chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds. Ceballos collected nine points along with four boards.
Montclair State closes out its pre-Holiday schedule on Tuesday, December 16 with a matinee matchup against Marymount University (VA) at the Panzer Athletic Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 pm.