Montclair, NJ – Senior forward Taylor Jeffers (Franklin Township, NJ, Franklin) scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Montclair State University to a runaway 76-41 victory over New Jersey City in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Wednesday evening at the Panzer Athletic Center.

Montclair State, ranked 23rd in the nation on the D3Hoops.com Top25 Poll and 25th in the USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll, remains unbeaten this season at 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and matches its best start since the 2003-04 season, when the Red Hawks also won their first nine games. MSU, which has never lost to New Jersey City at home and now holds a dominating 50-3 series record between the schools, defeated the Gothic Knights for the 19th straight time.

MSU, which has outscored its opponents by 28 points per game, opened up strong. The Red Hawks broke open an early 2-2 tie with a 17-4 scoring run to take control of the contest at 19-6 with 11:05 remaining in the opening stanza.  Jeffers topped the spree with seven of her 11 first half points. Montclair State, which led by as many as 16 points in the first half at 24-8 with 9:08 left, maintained its double-digit margin for the remainder of the period as it went into the halftime intermission, ahead 32-22.  

New Jersey City, which dropped its record to 3-7 this season and 1-4 in the NJAC, never got any closer in the second half as Montclair State's defense showed its dominance.

MSU held New Jersey City to just three field goals and six points over the first 11:13 of the second half. Montclair State also forced New Jersey City into 32 turnovers in the contest, the fifth straight game and sixth this season that the Red Hawks have caused the opposition into 30 or more turnovers. MSU, which was averaging 18 steals a game, pilfered 20 in the contest.

Montclair State, which outrebounded New Jersey City 48-25 in the game, including 34-15 in the second half, never looked back. Leading 40-26 with 15:09 to play, MSU went on a 19-2 run to a take a commanding 31-point bulge at 59-28 with 8:47 left.

Freshman guard-forward Shalette Brown (Somerset, NJ, Franklin Township) collected 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals and sophomore forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ, Roselle Catholic) added nine points and a game-high eight rebounds for Montclair State.

Senior guard Gabrielle Rivera (Teaneck, N.J./Saint Joseph of the Palisade)  topped New Jersey City with 12 points and sophomore guard Jade Medley (Queens, N.Y./Hudson catholic) scored 10 points in a reserve role.