Montclair, NJ – Senior guard Rachael Krauss hit five three-pointer and finished with 15 points as No. 14/18 Montclair State improved to 5-0 on the season with a 57-46 win over Ramapo at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.
Junior Katie Sire had seven points and nine rebounds for the Red Hawks (5-0, 2-0 NJAC), who outscored the Roadrunners 39-23 in the middle quarters for their 11th consecutive win versus Ramapo. MSU leads the all-time series, 52-9.
Ramapo took an early 5-2 lead as Shelby Ringer hit a three and Jina Crawford followed with basket in the first 2:38 of the game. Krauss gave MSU an 8-7 lead inside two minutes however Kellie Lane hit a foul shots knotting the contest up. A layup from Taylor Harmon with 17 seconds remaining allowed Montclair to take a 10-8 lead after one period.
Freshman Alex McKinnon scored four points in the early part of the second and a three-point play by Sage Bennett put Montclair in front, 17-10. After a three by the Roadrunners, Kate Tobie scored the next four points and a three by Kiarra Dillard with 3:44 left extended the lead to 24-15. Krauss closed out the half with two more three-points as MSU went into the locker room up 30-19.
A Tobie free throw and Krauss connected from behind the three-pointer extended the lead to 34-19 with 1:33 gone by in the third. Ringer hit a three-pointer to make the score 40-26 later on however Yazmine Lacey and Tiarra Dillard had consecutive baskets and two foul shots by McKinnon gave the Red Hawks their largest lead at 46-26 with 1:53 to play.
Lacey finished with seven points and six rebounds while McKinnon collected six along with five caroms. MSU shot just 29 percent in the game but used its defense as a source of offense turning 18 Ramapo turnovers into 26 points.
Montclair State is back in action on Saturday, December 3 with a 6:00 m matchup at the Golden Dome in Newark, NJ against Rutgers-Newark.