Amherst, MA – The Montclair State women's basketball team gave top-ranked Amherst College all it could handle however a strong start by the defending national champions proved too much to overcome as the Red Hawks bowed out of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship with a 51-40 loss on Friday evening.

Senior guard KATE TOBIE finished with 11 points as MSU closed out its season at 25-4. Montclair State was making its first Sweet 16 appearance in three years and its fourth overall in its ninth trip to the Division III Tournament.

Hannah Fox led three players in double figures for Amherst (30-0), which extended its winning streak to 63 in a row. The Mammoths will face University of Rochester in the Sectional Final on Saturday, March 10 with a winner earning a spot in next weekend's Final Four in Minnesota.

Tied at 2-2 early, a five-point run gave Amherst the lead it would not relinquish. A Fox jumper gave the hosts an 11-5 lead after one and that lead swelled to 17-5 after Hannah Hackley put in a layup with 7:30 to play in the second. Emma McCarthy gave the Mammoths a 16-point advantage with 2:54 to play and her free throw with 29 seconds sent Amherst into the break in front 28-11.

The Red Hawks struggled shooting making just 3-of-17 attempts from the field but turned things around in the second and chipped away at the deficit. Kate Sullivan's three-pointer with 4:03 left in the third put Amherst in front 35-17 before the Red Hawks closed out the period with a 13-6 run. Tobie's coast-to-coast layup with 19 seconds left got the lead under 10 but Fox's jumper with two seconds left allowed Amherst to take a 41-30 lead into the final quarter.

Fox's three-point to begin the fourth widened the lead to 44-30 but Montclair scored the next seven halving the lead to 44-37 after DOMONIQUE WIRSING converted a three-point play with 6:37 remaining. A KATIE SIRE layup with 2:23 kept MSU seven points behind but McCarthy scored on a layup and Eck finished off a break putting Amherst up 50-39 with 1:34 left.

Sire and TAYLOR HARMON each finished with eight points and four rebounds while sophomore ALEX MCKINNON chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.

The loss also closed the book on the brilliant careers of Sire, Tobie and Harmon. The trio combined for a 104-16 record and helped Montclair State to four straight NJAC regular-season and tournament titles. The group appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, including MSU's run to the Final Four and a third-place national finish.