Montclair, NJ – Junior forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) scored seven of her game-high 20 points in the final 4:25 at 10th-ranked Montclair State closed out the game on a 14-0 run winning the battle of NJAC unbeatens with a 56-46 victory over The College of New Jersey on Wednesday evening.
Senior Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, IL / Bolingbrook) had 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals as the Red Hawks (14-1) improved to 8-0 in the league with its eighth straight victory. Montclair, which has won 27 consecutive NJAC regular-season contests, also snapped TCNJ's nine-game winning streak in the process.
Junior guard Janitza Aquino (Kearny, NJ / Kearny) chipped in with 16 points for the Red Hawks.
Senior center Liz West (Monmouth Beach, NJ / Shore Regional) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for New Jersey (10-3, 7-1 NJAC), which suffered its first loss in nearly two months. TCNJ's last defeat came on November 20 in an 86-81 loss at home to Moravian.
MSU, which struggled shooting in the first half found its touch in the second, including the final four-plus minutes as it trailed 46-42 after West hit two from the free throw line.
Tobie began the decisive run on the ensuing possession and junior guard Jenny Malone (North Plainfield, NJ / Roselle Catholic), the only other Montclair State player to score in the game, drained a three-pointer from the corner to put MSU up 47-46 with 3:31 to play. Each two would turn the ball over and miss jumpers over the next two minutes with Henry scoring on a layup with 1:03 to go making the score 49-46.
The Lions turned the ball over on their next possession and Aquino was fouled with 47 seconds. She made both extending the lead to 51-46. Sara Kluth (Lynbrook, NY / St. Mary's) grabbed a key defensive rebound with 37 seconds and Tobie made a steal with 31 seconds to end two New Jersey possessions. Tobie would make one from the line and added two more with :17 left after being fouled for 54-46 lead. Tobie, who went 8-of-10 from the line, hit two attempts with a second remaining for the final margin.
Tobie added five rebounds, four assists, five blocks and two steals as MSU shot 9-of-19 (47 percent) over the final 20 minutes while using an advantage at the foul line making 14-of-19 attempts compared to TCNJ's 5-of-7. Kluth had five rebounds with Aquino getting three along with two steals. Rachael Krauss collected five rebounds and three steals.
Senior guard Kelly Roddy (Belmar, NJ / St. Rose) had 13 points and two rebounds for the Lions. Colleen Duffy (Spotswood, NJ / Spotswood) had six points and three rebounds with Tiffany DeTulio (Colts Neck, NJ / Colts Neck) getting five points, five rebounds and three steals.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half as Montclair State shot just 8-of-27 (30 percent) from the field while the Lions managed just 9-of-28 shooting (32 percent). However the two teams used what success it did have putting together streaks that lead to three lead changes.
TCNJ led 7-2 early and was up 12-10 with 11:55 to go in the opening period before Montclair State scored eight straight points capped off by Tobie's layup with 7:01 to go giving MSU an 18-12 advantage. New Jersey battled back with an eight-point run of its own turning a 20-1 deficit into a 24-20 lead at the break. Jessica Goldbach tied the game with 3:19 left and baskets by West and Merlin put TCNJ up by four.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 19 with conference contests. Montclair State heads to Union, NJ to take on Kean University in the Harwood Arena at 3:00 pm. TCNJ is home for New Jersey City University in a 1:00 pm tipoff at Packer Hall.