Montclair, NJ – Senior ALEX MCKINNON became the 21st player in program to score 1,000 career points as the Montclair State women's basketball team topped New Jersey City University 57-45 to advance to the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Friday evening.

The second-seeded Red Hawks (21-5) will head to Glassboro, NJ, on Friday night to take on the top-seeded Rowan University Profs (23-3) at 7 pm. The Profs knocked off The College of New Jersey 82-62 to punch their ticket to the Championship Game.

The Red Hawks used a 6-0 spurt, capped by a NICKIE CARTER layup, to take a slim 8-4 advantage early in the game. The Gothic Knights (13-14) battled back and grabbed an 11-10 lead thanks to a jumper from Mya Neal. Junior KIM CALLOWAY pushed the lead back in favor of the Red Hawks, as she made a nice steal in the defensive end and went the rest of the way for an easy layup.

Hannah Johnson hit from deep to level the game at 16 early in the second stanza, but Carter's three at the 3:35 mark snapped a tie game to give MSU another lead. That triple allowed Montclair to close the half on a 9-2 rally, finished off with a jumper in the paint from junior KAYLA BUSH. Carter led all scorers with 16 first-half points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.

The Gothic Knights got to within four midway through the third period before Carter was able to hit a three to stretch the edge back to seven. The lead grew back to nine after senior CERYS MACLELLAND was able to corral a rebound and put it back up to give MSU a 42-33 lead. The pesky Gothic Knights tallied the final four points of the frame and entered the fourth down 43-37.

MacLelland was able to hit a twisting jumper in the paint and knocked down the free throw to push the score to nine, but NJCU answered with two from the charity stripe to bring the game back to seven. McKinnon converted a layup to bring her career point total to 999 and was able to cross the 1,000 point plateau at the 2:23 mark. After a technical foul was assessed, McKinnon stepped up to the free-throw line and sunk her first attempt, giving her the milestone. She became the first player to score 1,000 career points since current Assistant Coach Katie Sire did so in 2017.

The three free throws from the senior helped break the game open, as a 7-0 Red Hawk finished off with a three from TAYLOR BROWN extended the gap to double-digits. NJCU scored the final points of the game on a fastbreak but were unable to complete the comeback.

Carter paced the Red Hawks with 21 points, while McKinnon had 10 points and seven rebounds. Bush, Brown, and MacLelland all recorded seven or more boards, led by 11 each from Bush and Brown. Johnson led all scorers with 24 points, while Sarah Edmond hauled in 10 rebounds.

The Red Hawks and Profs split their season series, with each side winning at home. In the first meeting, Montclair received 22 points from Carter to knock off the Profs 76-50. Rowan responded with a win on February 8, winning 67-65 on a last-second layup.