Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University women's basketball team looks for its eighth New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship when they face top-seeded Rowan University on Friday night.
Tip-off inside Esby Gym is scheduled for 7 pm down in Glassboro, NJ. The Red Hawks have won six of the past seven NJAC Championships but will be on the road for an NJAC Playoff game for the first time since February 21, 2012.
Tickets for the game are $5 for general admission and $2 for students, children, and seniors. Due to NJAC regulations, all tickets must be purchased.
The winner of the NJAC Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, which begins next weekend.
The No. 2 seed Red Hawks (21-5) and Rowan (23-3) split the two previous meetings between the teams since season. Montclair earned a 76-50 victory inside the Panzer Athletic Center on January 11 with Rowan picking up a last-second 67-65 triumph on February 8. Before the February 8 victory, Montclair had won the last 11 meetings dating back to 2016. In NJAC Tournament games, each team has won five games with MSU topping Rowan 68-62 in the NJAC Championship in 2016.
Both sides were well-represented on the NJAC All-Conference teams, combining for seven players. Montclair State's NICKIE CARTER was tabbed as the NJAC Rookie of the Year in addition to being named to the First Team, while junior TAYLOR BROWN and senior ALEX MCKINNON were Second Team and Honorable Mention selections respectively. Ayanna Johnson of Rowan was the Defensive Player of the Year, and a First Team choice, with freshman Nicole Mallard and sophomore Grace Marshall, gained Second Team honors. Freshman Eliana Santana was chosen Honorable Mention, with Head Coach Demetrius Poles was the NJAC Coach of the Year.
Carter leads the Red Hawks with 17.0 points per game, with McKinnon averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. Senior CERYS MACLELLAND and junior KAYLA BUSH have combined for 18.5 rebounds per game, with Bush adding 56 rejections. Brown has posted a pair of double-doubles on the year and filled stat-sheet against Rutgers University-Newark with 12 rebounds, nine points, six assists, and four blocks. Carter notched 11 games with 20 or more points, including a career-high 32 points in the regular-season finale against Rutgers University-Camden last week.
Marshall is the scoring leader for Rowan with 13.9 points per game (ppg). She is first on the team with 48 three-pointers. The sophomore is first in the conference in free throw percentage (.896), third in three-pointers made (2.3), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.350) and fifth in steals (2.6). Mallard is second on the team in scoring (13.5) and rebounding (6.4). She is first in assists (66) and steals (82). Her 3.2 steals per game leads the NJAC. Johnson leads the NJAC in rebounds (13.2) and blocks (3.2) and is second in Division III in rejections and fourth in rebounds.
Montclair advanced to the NJAC Championship game after topping New Jersey City University 57-45 int the NJAC Semifinals Tuesday night. Carter paced the Red Hawks with 21 points, while McKinnon became the 21st player in program history to record 1,000 career points. Bush and Brown each hauled in 11 rebounds, while MacLelland recorded seven points, seven boards, and five assists. Rowan overcame a slow start and topped The College of New Jersey 82-62 on Tuesday as well. Mallard, Santana, and Marshall all tallied 14 points, with Marshall adding 10 rebounds for a double-double in the win.
