Mahwah, NJ – Junior MEGAN DUFFY tallied her first career double-double as the Montclair State women's basketball team earned a 60-53 win over Ramapo College Wednesday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (11-12, 8-8 NJAC) took an early 2-0 lead before the Roadrunners countered with a 13-1 spurt over the next three minutes. NICKIE CARTER stopped the rally with a jumper before another Carter jumper off a hand-off from MADELYN MCCREA trimmed the deficit to 13-6.
• Montclair held the hosts scoreless over the final 2:05 of the first quarter but trailed 17-12 at the end of one. Carter and ALEXIS STROLLO tallied four points apiece in the opening frame to help Montclair get back in the game.
• The Roadrunners' scoreless drought continued into the second, and a pull-up jumper from MEGAN DUFFY 2:12 into the frame leveled the contest at 17. ISABELLA ORLANDO pushed the Red Hawks in front with a top-of-the-key three-pointer 90 seconds later.
• Ramapo snapped the 12-0 run with 10 straight markers, limiting Montclair to 1-of-5 shooting over a 3:10 stretch before two Carter free throws brought the team within three at 27-24. Neither side notched a point over the final 3:05, as Ramapo entered the break up by a single possession.
• Orlando hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe 3:07 into the third before Olivia Johnstone drained a three-pointer to extend the gap back to five at 32-27.  
• Carter gave Montclair the lead back late in the third, hitting a driving layup while absorbing contact and hitting the free throw to make it 39-37 Montclair. The senior took over, scoring seven straight points late in the period, giving the guests a 44-40 edge entering the fourth.
• Ramapo netted six of the first eight markers to start the fourth, tying the contest at 46. Duffy and Carter hit tries from beyond the arc sandwiched around two Ramapo free-throws, giving Montclair the 52-48 lead with 5:35 to go.
• With 4:03 left, OLIVIA VERO dribbled in the paint and kicked the ball out to the corner to a wide-open BRIANNA MONTAJES. Montajes calmly sank the shot, extending the lead to seven. After forcing a miss, McCrea potted a jumper from the free-throw line to make it a nine-point lead.
• The lead swelled to double-figures after a triple from Carter with 2:30 to go.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After being limited to six points in the first half, Carter erupted for 19 in the second, finishing with a team-high 25
• Duffy netted 13 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double performance.
• Montajes hauled in eight rebounds as the Red Hawks held a commanding 48-31 edge on the glass.

FROM THE COURT
"We're happy with the effort from our team today! We really focused on rebounding and staying out of foul trouble which we did a good job with both of those categories. A couple stand out performances were Bri (Brianna) Montajes, MEGAN DUFFY, and NICKIE CARTER." Assistant Coach Katie Sire.

UP NEXT
The Red Hawks host Kean University in the regular season home finale Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 3 pm inside the Panzer Athletic Center.