Montclair, NJ – Senior guard Janitza Aquino (Kearny, NJ / Kearny) scored 17 points while classmate Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) overcame a struggling shooting night to finish with a double-double of 10 points and 17 rebounds as Montclair State moved into the NCAA Division III "Elite 8" for the second straight season with a 61-54 victory over Bowdoin at the Panzer Athletic Center on Friday evening.
Sophomore forward Sage Bennett (Sicklerville, NJ / Winslow) added 10 points and seven rebounds as the Red Hawks (29-1) advanced to the Sectional Final and will face Salisbury University on Saturday, March 14 with the winner moving on to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship in Grand Rapids, MI on March 20-21. Salisbury (28-2) knocked off Amherst College 63-58 in the other Sectional Semifinal on Friday.
It will be the second meeting of the season between the Red Hawks and Sea Gulls as the two met in the final of the Sheraton Parsippany Holiday Tournament at the Panzer Athletic Center on December 29 with MSU registering a 76-54 victory.
Sara Binkhorst (West Hartford, CT / Hall) finished with 15 points while Marle Curle (Plattsburgh, NY / Plattsburgh) added 13 points and eight rebounds as the Polar Bear (25-5) nearly erased a 15-point halftime deficit. Bowdoin was making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last 15 years and its 11th trip to the "Sweet 16".
Montclair State, appearing in its third consecutive "Sweet 16" trip, managed to build a 33-18 lead at the break as Aquino scored 10 of her points in the opening period while Tobie redirected her game to the glass pulling down 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.
Leading 12-10, MSU went on a 10-point run over a three-minute span taking control of the contest. Aquino scored the first four and Tobie sank a pair of free throws before Katie Sire (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan) and Kate Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) each added layups for a 22-10 lead with 8:49 to play. The lead would get to 30-16 after Kayla Ceballos (Brooklyn, NY / Christ the King) hit a running jumper with the shot clock winding down and a three by Rachael Krauss (Farmingdale, NJ / Colts Neck) gave Montclair State a 33-18 lead at the break.
A layup by Zoe Curts (Little Silver, NJ / Red Bank Regional) gave Montclair State its largest lead at 43-26 with 13:29 left in the second half however the Polar Bears stayed in the game and managed to outscore MSU 14-3 over the next seven minutes to get within 46-40 on a Binkhorst three-pointer.
Montclair State would get back up 54-47 with 2:28 to go on two foul shots by Melissa Tobie however Curle scored on a layup and her free throw with 1:34 left pulled Bowdoin within 54-50. The Polar Bears had a chance to pull even closer however they would miss two free throws with 57 seconds remaining. Bennett grabbed the carom on the second miss and Aquino was fouled six seconds later. She would hit both attempts restoring the lead to 56-50 and added two more with 47 seconds for an eight-point Montclair lead.
Melissa Tobie, who was just 1-of-17 from the floor, would ice the game for the Red Hawks connecting twice at the foul line as she finished 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Montclair was 17-of-21 overall at the line in the contest compared to just 9-of-17 by Bowdoin, which led the NESCAC in free throw shooting during the year.
Melissa Tobie added five assists while Kate Tobie totaled seven points and three assists. Sire had eight points and four rebounds.
Shannon Brady (Scituate, MA / Scituate) had eight points and eight rebounds for Bowdoin which outrebounded MSU 44-43 in the game. Ally Silfen (Rye Brook, NY / Blind Brook) added nine points along with a team-best 12 rebounds.