Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State women's basketball team (14-9, 10-6 NJAC) earned a nice bounce-back win on Wednesday night, taking care of business against New Jersey City (8-13, 6-10 NJAC) with an 83-61 victory.

How It Happened

• SHANNON HUGHES buried a three to kick off the contest. After NJCU countered with a pair of made layups, a made jumper by CELINA BUSSANICH ignited a 14-0 run that pushed Montclair out to a 17-4 lead with 3:28 remaining in the opening frame. The Gothic Knights closed out the period with a 9-2 run, and Montclair held a 19-13 lead heading into the second.
• Jersey City converted a layup off a turnover that was answered by a good layup and deep ball from Hughes to push the lead out to 24-15. Facing a 28-17 deficit, NJCU clawed back again with a 10-3 run that lasted from 4:41 to 1:47. After both teams traded buckets with less than a minute left, Montclair capitalized on its final possession with ISABELLA ORLANDO diving for an offensive rebound and kicking it out to Hughes for a buzzer-beater three to end the half and give the Red Hawks a 36-29 lead entering the second half.
• The Gothic Knights generated a small 6-2 to make it a one-possession game in the first two minutes of the third quarter. BELLA BRUCE tipped in a shot off a missed three to not only keep NJCU at bay, but also started a 12-0 run that put Montclair ahead with a double-digit lead of 50-36 with 3:48 remaining in the third. A 7-0 run by New Jersey City was responded to with five unanswered by Montclair, and both teams hit two free throws in the final minute of the quarter to make the score 55-45 entering the final quarter.
• Montclair pulled away in the fourth quarter. Both teams exchanged buckets in the early going, but the Red Hawks were setting up their biggest run of the game. Between the 8:20 and 2:24 timestamps, Montclair outscored New Jersey City 21-4 and controlled a 79-56 advantage. The two teams went back-and-forth down the stretch, and when the final whistle blew, the Red Hawks picked up the 83-61 win.

Inside the Numbers

• The Red Hawks were led by Hughes, who generated a season-high 22 points behind stellar shooting beyond the arc. She finished 6-for-8 from deep.
• Bruce notched her second double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. It was her second double-double in the past five games.
• ALYSSA CRAIGWELL and ALEXIS STROLLO also notched double-digit point efforts, with Craigwell finishing with 16 and Strollo nabbing 14.
• Bussanich was stellar on defense, generating a season high four steals.

From the Court

• "Proud of how we bounced back tonight! Really great team effort all around. When we rebound and push into transition, really good things happen! We're looking forward to building on this momentum heading into the final games of the season." Associate Head Coach Katie Sire

 
Up Next

• Montclair will honor its three seniors before hosting its final regular-season home game of the season against Kean on Saturday, February 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.