Montclair, NJ - Senior guard JANITZA AQUINO (Kearny, NJ / Kearny) scored 22 points and handed out five assists earning Most Valuable Player honors as No. 7 Montclair State captured the Sheraton Parsippany Holiday Tournament with a 76-54 victory over previously unbeaten and No. 20 Salisbury University on Monday afternoon at the Panzer Athletic Center.

Seniof forward MELISSA TOBIE, (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) named to the All-Tournament Team, posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Red Hawks kept their record unblemished at 12-0. Freshman KATIE SIRE (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan) had a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior Sarah Seipp (Gaithersburg, MD / Gaithersburg) totaled 17 points for Salisbury (9-1). Seipp was also named to the All-Tournament Team along with Baruch's Sheridan Taylor (Peekskill, NY / Peekskill) and Illinois Wesleyan's Gabrielle Holness (Middlebury, CT / Pomeraug Regional). Baruch topped Illinois Wesleyan in the third-place game, 63-57.

Aquino got Montclair State off to a good start scoring six of MSU's first 12 points staking the Red Hawks to a 12-1 advantage five minutes into the contest. Salisbury trimmed the deficit back to 14-8 before Montclair totaled the next seven points with Tobie sinking a free throw for a 21-8 lead with 10:38 remaining.

A three-pointer by RAYVEN LUCAS (Harrison, NJ / Harrison) from the top of the key put MSU in front 29-10 with just under eight minutes to play and a three-pointer from KAYLA CEBALLOS (Brooklyn, NY / Christ the King) gave the Red Hawks its largest lead of the half at 42-18 before MSU settled for a 42-20 lead at the break.

Aquino had 13 first-half points for MSU which shot 15-of-34 from the field, including five from behind the arc. Meanwhile the Sea Gulls struggled connecting on just 6-of-26 from the floor misfiring on all six of its three-point attempts.

In the second half, SAGE BENNETT (Sicklerville, NJ / Winslow) put back a miss giving Montclair State at 46-22 lead 1:52 into the period before Salisbury whittled that lead in half with a 13-2 run capped off by Seipp's layup with 13:59 left. Tobie countered that with a three-pointer with ZOE CURTIS (Little Silver, NJ / Red Bank Regional) getting the next four points as Montclair built a 55-39 advantage with 10:15 to go.

Kathy Albornoz (Lutherville, PA / Dulaney) put back a miss for the Sea Gulls getting Salisbury within 57-45 with 5:33 left however Tobie sandwiched a pair of layups around an Aquino bucket restoring the MSU lead to 63-45 with 4:16 to play. Albornoz answered with two free throws but Aquino delivered a staggering blow with a three-pointer from straight away for a 66-49 advantage with 3:16 left.

Ceballos finished with nine points for MSU which got six points and six rebounds off the bench from Curtis. Bennett grabbed seven rebounds for MSU, which turned the ball over just six times.

Anna Hackett (Germantown, MD / Clarksburg) finished with 11 points and five rebounds while Albornoz collected six point and a team-best eight rebounds.

Montclair State is now off until Wednesday, January 7 when it travels to Glassboro, NJ to face Rowan University at 6:00 pm in an NJAC matchup.