Feb 02, 2013
Montclair, NJ – Sophomore forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ, Roselle Catholic) scored a game-high 18 points, to lead undefeated Montclair State University to its 22th straight victory with a 62-49 win over Richard Stockton College in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest Saturday afternoon at the Panzer Athletic Center.
Tobie, who scored12 of her points in the first half, received help from three "double-double" performances. Junior guard Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, senior forward Taylor Jeffers (Franklin Township, N.J./Franklin Township) had10 points and 12 rebounds and freshman guard-forward Shalette Brown (Somerset, N.J./Franklin Township) collected 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Montclair State, ranked eighth in the nation on the D3Hoops.com Top25 Poll and 10th on the USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll, remains one of three unbeaten teams in NCAA Div. III this season at 22-0 and has already clinched the New Jersey Athletic Conference regular season title at 14-0.
MSU, which has already set school records for the best start to a season and for consecutive victories, has won its last 17 games at home. The 22 wins is the most for Montclair State since winning 23 contests during the 1989-90 season. The Red Hawks, who lead have now won the last three straight games and nine of the last 11 against Richard Stockton, lead the all-time series 37-17.
The nation's leader in scoring margin (28.8 ppg.) and ranked fifth in scoring defense (45.1 ppg.), Montclair State held Richard Stockton to just two field goals as they built a commanding 30-8 advantage with 6:07 remaining in the first half.. MSU also maintained the 22-point cushion, the biggest in the game, at 36-14 with 1:37 left before going into halftime, ahead 36-21.
Richard Stockton, which lost for the fifth time in six games, dropped its record to 10-10 on the year and 5-8 in NJAC play. The Ospreys, who led 2-0 at the start, got as close as 11 points four times in the second half, the last time at 58-47 with 3:53 to play in the game.
Montclair State, which has been victorious by double digits in every game this season, won by its closest margin for the second time this season. MSU, ranked second in the nation in steals per game (18.6), pilfered 18 in the contest. The Red Hawks, who also ranks second in turnover margin (12.57), forced Richard Stockton into 25 turnovers.
Sophomore guard-forward Alex Nardoza (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge) topped Richard Stockton with 12 points with senior guard-forward Che'Na Thompson (Salem, N.J./Salem) pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds for the Ospreys.
Montclair State is back in action on Wednesday, when the Red Hawks travel to New Jersey City University for a New Jersey Athletic Conference matchup at 6 p.m. Richard Stockton's next contest will be Monday as the Ospreys play host to Stevens at 7 p.m.