Madison, NJ – The Montclair State University women's basketball team defeated Drew, 68-49, to earn its third-straight victory to begin the season on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (3-0) got four points early on from ALYSSA CRAIGWELL along with a layup from OLIVIA VERO to open a 6-2 advantage two minutes in. Drew responded with the next nine points to jump ahead by five with 6:31 remaining in the first quarter. Vero notched a pair of free throws, and Craigwell connected on a layup to bring Montclair within one. The Rangers rebuilt a five-point lead down the stretch of the frame, but ALEXIS STROLLO hit a layup in the waning moments to make the score 21-19 in favor of Drew at the end of one quarter.
• With the score level at 23 at the 5:48 mark of the half, Vero hit a layup off a feed from DAJA WENTZ to push Montclair back in front. Craigwell later tallied four more points, with two free throws from Strollo sandwiched between, to make the score 31-24 with three and a half minutes on the clock. Back-to-back layups from Strollo in the final two minutes of the quarter increased the margin to double-digits, and the two sides would go into the break with Montclair up 39-30.
• Craigwell opened the second half with a jumper off a feed from SOPHIE BENEVENTINE, and BRIANNA MONTAJES converted a layup on the next possession to balloon the advantage to 13 early in the second half. A pair of free throws from SHANNON HUGHES increased the lead to 15 with 3:25 in the third, but Drew used layups on back-to-back possessions in the final two minutes to make the score 49-38 going into the final 15 minutes. 
• The Rangers used two converted shots over three possessions early in the fourth to cut the deficit to seven with 8:22 on the clock. Montclair answered on the next two possessions with a three-pointer from Hughes and a jumper from Beneventine to go back up by 12. A three from AMANDA CASTRO with five and a half minutes remaining gave the Red Hawks their largest lead of the afternoon at 16, and they would later push it higher to 19 with just over a minute remaining to seal the road victory.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• The Red Hawks have won three-straight games to begin a campaign for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
• Craigwell led Montclair with a new career-high 19 points, and notched her first career double-double with 13 rebounds. 
• Vero tallied her second double-double in three contests to begin the season, as she finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Strollo (11 points) and Castro (10 points) were the other two in double-figures for the Red Hawks.

FROM THE COURT

"Not the prettiest game, but our rebounding and defense made the difference. We were dominant on the boards, and that's our goal going into each game." - Head Coach Karin Harvey

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will return home to face Valley Forge on Thursday, November 21. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 6:00 PM.