Gwynedd Valley, PA – Junior forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ, Roselle Catholic), who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as No. 4/6 Montclair State captured its second straight Gwynedd-Mercy Tip-Off Tournament title with an 80-51 victory over the host Griffins on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, IL, Bolingbrook), also named to the All-Tournament Team, added nine points and 11 rebounds as the Red Hawks (2-0) jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half and never looked back.
Gwynedd Mercy held two early leads however back-to-back layups by Tobie in the early going gave the Red Hawks a 7-4 lead which would eventually get to 18-8 with 12:55 remaining on a fast-break layup by Henry. MSU would maintain that lead until the closing minutes of the half when Janitza Aquino (Kearny, NJ, Kearny) scored consecutive baskets to push the lead to 30-14 with 2:30 remaining
MSU led 33-17 at the break with Tobie netting 12 in the first 20 minutes of the game. Montclair State also held the Griffins to just 8-of-29 shooting (28 percent) from the field.
In the second half, Natasha Matthews completed a three-point play to bring Gwynedd Mercy within 35-24 however scored the next 10 points capped off from a free throw from Sandra Gee (Allentown, PA, Emmaus) for a 45-24 lead with 13:30 remaining.
Freshman Rachael Krauss (Farmingdale, NJ, Colts Neck) had 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench with Gee contributing seven points and six rebounds along with a pair of blocked shots.
Montclair State is now off until Saturday, November 23 when it hosts Rowan University in its home and NJAC opener at the Panzer Athletic Center. Tipoff of the game is set for 3:00 pm.