Montclair, NJ - Less than a month ago, Montclair State's Janitza Aquino (Kearny, NJ, Kearny) stunned William Paterson with eight three-pointers in the first half of an eventual 21-point win by the Red Hawks. On Friday evening at the Panzer Athletic Center, Aquino connected just twice from behind the arc however it was the second one that stunned the Pioneers even more than month earlier.

Aquino, who finished with 16 points, drained a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining as the No. 8/9 and top-seeded Red Hawks (25-2) captured their second straight New Jersey Athletic Conference championship with a 67-64 win over third-seeded William Paterson.  It was the second consecutive championship game meeting for the two as Montclair won the 2013 title game 75-54 also at home.

The victory, MSU's 11th straight, gave Montclair State back-to-back conference titles for the first time in program history while the Red Hawks also claimed the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second consecutive season.
The Red Hawks, who will make consecutive trips to the NCAAs for the first time since the 1989 and 1990 campaigns, will learn their NCAA destination and opponent on Monday, March 3 when the full bracket for the 2014 tournament is announced on NCAA.com at 2:30 pm. It will be MSU's fifth Division III tournament appearance overall.

Aquino's heroics capped off an incredible game between the two local rivals, who have combined to win the last four NJAC championships as William Paterson (18-10) won the 2011 and 2012 titles before Montclair State's latest run.  The two schools are separated by nine miles but the distance between the two was even closer on Friday evening as the largest lead in the game was seven points on two occasions.

Senior guard Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, IL, Bolingbrook) scored on a layup with 5:08 left putting MSU in front 59-52. The Pioneers scored the next four points but a three-pointer from the left corner by Kayla Ceballos (Brooklyn, NY, Christ the King) boosted the Red Hawks lead back to 62-56 with 2:52 remaining. Off a timeout by the Pioneers, Floriana Borova (Cresskill, NJ / Cresskill) connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key making the score 62-59.

Montclair State missed a free throw at the other end and things got worse for the Red Hawks as junior Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ, Roselle Catholic), the NJAC Player of the Year, fouled out with 2:14 to go. Brittany Harden (Millville, NJ / Sacred Heart) hit one from the line and Borova on the next trip down made two more after being fouled tying the game at 62-62 with 1:31 to play.

Ceballos scored on a spinning layup to put Montclair back in front with 1:04 to go but Borova, who finished with a game-high 23 points and seven assists, was fouled again with 43 ticks showing. The All-NJAC selection hit both attempts tying the game for the eighth time at 64-64.

Montclair State got the ball and ran off 15 seconds before Ceballos launched a three from the corner that went off the mark. However senior Sarah Kluth (Lynbrook, NY, St. Mary's) came down with MSU's 20th offensive rebound of the contest and perhaps the most important one of the season for the Red Hawks, who called timeout with 23 seconds left.

Off the stoppage, Ceballos maneuvered around the top of the key and drove in from the left side before kicking out to Aquino, who with a defender in her face, sank her 64th triple of the year, giving Montclair State the lead. William Paterson would get one last chance as Borova moved the ball into the front court before launching a three-pointer from the top of the key that was off the mark as the final horn sounded.

Hitting the game-winning shot was nothing new for Aquino this season as she also did the same with a three-pointer with 35 seconds left capping a 22-point comeback by MSU in a 70-68 win at Rutgers-Newark in early December.

Henry finished with a solid double-double of 11 points and 18 rebounds including nine on the offensive glass. Montclair State also got great contributions from freshmen Rachael Krauss (Farmingdale, NJ, Colts Neck) and Sage Bennett (Sicklerville, NJ, Winslow), who combined for 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half as the Red Hawks overcame several small deficits for a 31-30 lead at the break.

Krauss finished with 11 points and five rebounds while Bennett chipped in with seven points and six rebounds. Ceballos had nine points and a pair of assists while Tobie had nine points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Red Hawks outrebounded William Paterson 46-38 that included the 20 offensive rebounds which led to 21 second-chance points. MSU also got 22 points from its bench compared to four by the Pioneers, who had their eight-game winning streak snapped. William Paterson hadn't lost since January 29 when it fell to Montclair State 81-60 behind Aquino's 26 points.

Ashley Marfo (Bergenfield, NJ / Bergenfield) had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds while Dana Jeter (Hamilton, NJ / Steinert) added 12 points and five rebounds. Kristine Jackiewicz (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown) chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds and four steals.