Montclair, NJ – Junior guard Rachel Krauss drilled a three-pointer from the left wing igniting a game-ending eight-point run as top-seeded Montclair State captured its fourth straight New Jersey Athletic Conference championship with a 68-62 win over second-seeded Rowan University on Friday evening.
Sophomore forward Katie Sire registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Red Hawks (21-6) earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. MSU, which reached the Final Four last season, will find out their NCAA fate on Monday, February 29 at 2:30 pm during a live selection show on NCAA.com.
Montclair State, which extended its winning streak to 10 games, became the first team to capture four consecutive NJAC titles since Rowan claimed the crown from 1996-1999. MSU earned its fifth NJAC championship overall having won the title in 1995 before its current streak.
Anyssa Sanchez had 14 points leading three Profs in double figures. Rowan, seeking its first championship since 1999, fell to 22-5 and will now wait to see if they can earn an at-large bid to the NCAAs. The Profs were ranked third in the last NCAA Regional rankings behind MSU at No. 2 and Stockton University which was atop the rankings.
Montclair State stormed to a 10-point lead in the first six minutes of the game and led 23-9 with 34 seconds left in the opening period when Zoe Curtis hit on a short jumper. The Red Hawks, who led 23-11 after one, maintained its double-digit lead in throughout the second before a layup from Summer Crilley pulled the Profs within 35-36 at the half.
Although never taking the lead in the third quarter, Rowan chipped away at the deficit and tied the game at 45-45 after Crilley hit two from the foul line. Freshman Kiarra Dillard put MSU back in front with a free throw and two foul shots from twin sister Tiarra gave the Red Hawks a 48-45 lead with a minute left.
Sanchez scored on a layup in the closing seconds to get Rowan within 48-47 after three and the Profs took the lead for the first time since the opening bucket of the game as Kaitlin Schullstrom hit from behind the arc making the score 50-48. Sire counter with a basketball for what would be the first of three tied and five lead changes in the final period.
Trailing 56-55 with 4:42 left, MSU scored five straight as Tiarra Dillard put in a layup and Krauss nailed the second of her three three-pointers. Rowan countered with six straight points to regain the leaf. Lake, Schullstrom and Sanchez each had layups with the latter scoring with 2:12 left making the score 62-60. Montclair turned the ball over however the Profs could not capitalize missing two free throws with 1:39 to play.
The Red Hawks committed another turnover however Rowan couldn't cash in missing two close-range attempts. Sire, who registered her ninth double-double of the year, grabbed the rebound off the second miss starting the break for MSU. Kate Tobie fired a pass across to the left side to Krauss, who pulled up and buried the three-pointer giving Montclair State a 63-62 advantage with 29 ticks to play.
Rowan would miss at the other end on its next possession with Krauss pulling down the rebounds with 13 seconds. The Profs fouled Sire who made both attempts extending the MSU lead to 65-62. Off a timeout, Crilley fired up a three that went wide. Sage Bennett grabbed the rebound and was fouled hard for a flagrant foul. Bennett made one of two and with possession of the ball MSU ran out the clock and tacked on two foul shots from Sire for the final margin.
Krauss finished with 12 points for Montclair State which got 11 points off the bench from Tiarra Dillard. Tobie finished with eight points and nine assists for MSU while Curtis chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds.
Crilley totaled 13 points along with eight rebounds with Schullstrom collecting 12 points and five caroms.
Friday's contest was the third meeting of the season between the teams, who finished tied for the NJAC regular-season title at 15-3. MSU would win the No. 1 seed based on a coin flip after the two remained deadlocked through the league's tiebreaking criteria. Montclair improved to 46-32 overall against the Profs, including 16 of the last 18 contests. The Red Hawks captured two of the three games which were decided by a total of 11 points.
Rowan registered a 68-64 win in Montclair in early January before MSU edged the Profs 71-70 in Glassboro on February 10 as Sire scored with five seconds remaining. It was the eighth time the two have met in the NJAC Tournament and first since 2008. Montclair State is now 3-5 in those contests and it marked the first time the two have met for the NJAC title. Montclair and Rowan met twice in the 1970s in the NJAIAW Tournament with MSU coming out victorious both times.