Union, NJ – Sophomore forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ, Roselle Catholic) scored a game-high 20 points as newly-ranked No. 5 Montclair State continued its winning way with a 71-42 victory over Kean University at the Harwood Arena on Monday evening.

Senior forward Taylor Jeffers (Franklin Township, NJ, Franklin) added 14 points and three rebounds for Montclair State, which jumped to No. 5 in the latest D3Hoops.com Top 25 earlier in the day and joins top-ranked DePauw as the only unbeaten teams remaining in Division III.

The Red Hawks upped their record to 24-0 on the season, the second-highest single-season win total in program history joining the 1976-77 team that finished 24-6. Only the 1977-78 team which advanced to the AIAW Final Four has won more games going 25-7.
MSU can match that mark when it hosts The College of New Jersey at home on Wednesday, February 13 at 6:00 pm.

Montclair State won its second straight contest against the Cougars following a nine-game skid and swept the season series for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Erika Jones led Kean with 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Red Hawks seized control in the first five minutes of the contest jumping out to a 10-0 lead as Jeffers scored four points with the last two of the spree coming at the foul line. Kean chipped away and got within four points three times, the last coming at 18-14 on a layup by AnnaRose Pierre with 7:43 to go.

But Janitza Aquino (Kearny, NJ, Kearny) answered with a jumper and Jeffers and Tobie each hit twice from the charity stripe as MSU pushed the lead back to 24-14 with 4:54 remaining. A steal and layup by Shalette Brown (Somerset, NJ, Franklin Township) before the final buzzer gave Montclair State a 33-21 lead at the break.

The Red Hawks shot just 13-of-36 (36 percent) from the field in the opening half and were outrebounded 22-19 however its forced the Cougars into 15 turnovers converting those miscues into 14 points.

In the second half, Tobie hit from behind the arc and later added two free throws giving MSU a 43-23 cushion with 16:17 left.  From there, Montclair would continue to increase its advantage and led 59-29 when Jeffers scored with 11 minutes to go.

Tobie scored 12 of her points in the second half as Montclair State sank 12-of-15 from the foul line.

Brown, the eight-time NJAC Rookie of the Week including each of the last three, finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five steals as she increased her season total to 96. Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, IL, Bolingbrook) also had five steals as she also topped the 90-steal mark for the year (92).  

Montclair is currently second in the nation in steals per game at 18.4. The Red Hawks are also second in scoring margin (+28.7 ppg) and seventh in scoring defense at 44.9 points per contest.

Aquino had eight points while Jen Kuczynski (Springfield, NJ, Jonathan Dayton) chipped in with five points and four rebounds.

Pierre had 10 points and four rebounds for the Cougars.

The Red Hawks committed just eight turnovers in the contest compared to 27 by Kean which turned into 28 points for Montclair State.