Women's Basketball | 3/1/2018 10:12:00 AM
Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State women's basketball team begins its second season on Friday evening as the Red Hawks host SUNY Old Westbury in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
MSU (23-3) squares off against the Panthers (23-3) in the second game at 7:00 pm. Gettysburg College (25-2) takes on Albright College (20-7) in the first contest at 5pm with the winners advancing to the second-round game on Saturday, March 3.
The Red Hawks are making their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth overall. Montclair has reached the second round or better in each of the last six seasons, including a run to the Final Four in 2015 and a third-place finish.
They will face an Old Westbury squad that is making its second trip in the last three years. The Panthers, earned their way into the 64-team field after capturing the Skyline Conference championship last week. Old Westbury defeated top-seeded Mount St. Mary, 53-47 in Newburgh, NY. Charlotte Renker led the way with a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. Tori Bellings added 14 points while Monique Joseph chipped in with eight points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
Old Westbury are led by Renker, a First-Team All-Skyline selection. The 6-2 junior is averaging 14.7 points and 12.7 rebounds per game along with 60 blocks and a .536 field goal percentage. Renker has posted 16 double-doubles this season including five games of 20-plus rebounds. She had 22 in the Panthers' semifinal win against Farmingdale State. Joseph was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year with a league-leading 126 steals along with averages of 13.8 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per contest.
The Panthers, winners of seven straight, have been solid defensively allowing just 51.0 points per game holding its opponents to that total or less in 12 of its 26 contests. In addition Old Westbury has been absolutely dominant on the boards with a Division III-best 27.1 rebounding margin, nearly 12 more than the No. 2 team on the list, Westminster (MO) ( 15.4).
Montclair State returns to the NCAA Tournament after capturing its sixth consecutive NJAC Championship last Friday against The College of New Jersey, 58-51. Senior
KATIE SIRE registered a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds while senior
TAYLOR HARMON adding 15 points and eight rebounds. The Red Hawks streak of conference titles is the second-longest since Kean University won the first nine championships from 1982-1991.
Like Old Westbury, MSU is solid on the defensive end of the floor giving up a NJAC-leading 51.8 points per game. Montclair's defense has allowed opponents to shoot just 34.1 percent from the field and 21.8 from behind the arc. Against TCNJ in the conference title game, MSU limited the Lions to 1-of-20 from the three-point line.
Offensively the Red Hawks average 64.0 points per game led by Sire, the two-time NJAC Player of the Year and three-time First-Team selection. The senior is averaging 21.4 points per game which is ninth in Division III along with 8.8 rebounds, 62 assists and 68 steals all of which rank in the Top 10 in the NJAC. Harmon, named Second-Team All-NJAC, is enjoying her best season averaging 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds. Senior
KATE TOBIE, a two-time First-Team all-conference pick, runs the offense. The league's top point guard, Tobie is second in Division III at 7.1 assists per game (164) in addition to 9.0 points per game and 3.6 rebounds.
Montclair State's game against Old Westbury will mark the first time the two meet since November 19, 1988 in the opening game of the Emmanuel College Tournament in Boston, MA, a game won by the then-Indians 68-41 in the only previous meeting.
In the opening game, Gettysburg is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 and its sixth overall. The Bullets, who enter the tournament on a 15-game winning streak, are enjoying a record-breaking season setting a new mark for victories. Gettysburg earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Centennial Conference with a 44-35 victory over Haverford.
The Bullets feature three players on the All-Centennial team, led by senior Emily Gibbons, who was tabbed Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Gibbons is averaging a double-double (13.5 ppg, 11.4 rpg) entering the NCAAs. Junior Emma Dorshimer leads the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and was named All-CC First Team for the second-straight year.
Albright was one of the 21 at-large selections to the NCAA Tournament and reached the Commonwealth Conference title game falling to Messiah College. For the Lions, they will get a return trip to the Panzer Athletic Center this season and third in the last two years. In 2016, Albright reached the Sectional Tournament for the first time after winning twice in Montclair including an over-time win over MSU in the second round.
The Lions returned to the PAC this past December and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Division III this season, shocking No. 1 Tufts 62-59 in the first round of the Gelston/Paskert Holiday Tournament. Albright fell to Montclair State in the championship game the following day.
Albright's lineup features four seniors including Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year Alysa Lofton. Lofton is averaging 14.2 points and 7.7 rebounds along with 104 assists and 72 steals. Guard Nina Mazzarelli is right behind at 14.1 point per contest with Devan Horka adding 12.8 points per game.
