Montclair, NJ: The Montclair State University women's basketball team defeated Ramapo College 62-44 in NJAC action tonight at the Panzer Athletic Center. The Red Hawks remain undefeated in the NJAC with a 12-0 record and improve to 16-1 overall while the Roadrunners drop to 5-14 overall and 2-10 in the conference. The Red Hawks are ranked #17 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and #22 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, both released earlier this week.

Ramapo jumped out to a 9-3 lead when Jenna Harsh connected on back-to-back three-pointers before MSU shrunk the lead to 14-12 with a layup from Alex McKinnon to end the first quarter; which started a 14-0 run that spilled into the second quarter as MSU took a 24-14 lead with 4:40 left in the second. McKinnon tallied eight points in the run. Another mini 7-0 run by the Red Hawks to close out the second quarter gave them a 20-point lead 36-16 heading into halftime. MSU held Ramapo to just two points in the second quarter.

Each team tallied eight points in the third quarter while Ramapo outscored MSU 20-18 in the final quarter. MSU held their biggest lead of the game 54-31 with 5:38 left to play when Kate Tobie scored a layup off a dish from Taylor Harmon. Ramapo went on a 6-0 run as Harsh hit a layup (5:14) while it was capped of by a pair of free throws from Alie Wickersheim (3:07). MSU scored two three-pointers down the stretch as Nicolette Stevens and Taylor Brown each scored. Brown's basket with 1:21 left to play were the final points for MSU as they led 62-40. Bridgette Buckalew sank a pair of free throws while Wickersheim made a layup with 38 seconds left on the clock for the 62-44 final score.

MSU had three players score in double figures as Katie Sire led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds while Tobie dished out a team high 11 assists and she also collected ten points and two steals. McKinnon added 11 points while Brown tallied nine of her own. The team shot 48% (25-52) from the field, 40% (9-22) from the three-point line and 50% (3-6) from the free throw line. The Red Hawk defense forced 22 Roadrunner turnovers, which led to 25 points for MSU.

Harsh led the way for Ramapo with 16 points while Wickersheim added nine points and grabbed a team high nine rebounds. Buckalew added six points, six rebounds and three assists while Jessica Repasy and Jina Crawford each contributed with four points. The Roadrunners shot 38% (16-42) from the floor, 36% (4-11) from the three-point line and 61% (8-13) from the free throw line.

The Roadrunners return to action when they host Kean University on Saturday, January 27th at 1pm. The Cougars are 7-11 overall and 4-8 in the NJAC. The Cougars defeated Ramapo on December 9th 65-58.