Ewing, NJ - The Montclair State women's basketball team scored the final 14 points, including five by junior guard Kayla Ceballos as the No. 10/11 Red Hawks raced past The College of New Jersey in the final four minutes for a 51-43 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Senior forward Melissa Tobie posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Red Hawks rallied from six points down to win their third straight game (3-0, 1-0 NJAC). Senior guard Janitza Aquino had 13 points, including a pair of late three-pointers.
The Red Hawks found themselves down 43-37 with 3:53 to play as the Lions' Angelica Esposito scored on a layup. Montclair came back down the other end and began their game-ending run as Ceballos drove the lane for a layup bringing MSU within four. A missed layup on the other end gave the ball back to Montclair which cashed in as Tobie scored making it 43-41 with 3:13 left.
Tobie collected a steal on the next TCNJ possession and missed a layup however she alertly grabbed the rebounds which eventually wound up in the hands of Aquino buried a three pointer giving the Red Hawks a 44-43 advantage with 1:23 left. After another Lions miss, Ceballos drilled another from behind the arc pushing the lead to four points before Aquino all but putting the game away with another trifecta making the score 50-43 with 45 ticks to play.
Tobie added two assists and two steals while Aquino handed out five assists. Ceballos totaled 11 points with Katie Sire getting six points and 10 rebounds.
Montclair overcame some tough shooting troubles in the first half as it trailed 20-16 at the break. MSU was just 5-of-25 from the floor and missed all 18 of its three-point attempts. MSU was 14-of-30 from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Montclair State returns to action on Tuesday, November 25 with another tough NJAC road contest as the Red Hawks head to Union, NJ to face Kean University at 6:00 pm in the Harwood Arena.
Montclair St. Scores Final 14 Points as Red Hawks Overcome TCNJ in NJAC Opener, 51-43
Montclair State
51
TCNJ
43
Final | 1 | 2 | T |
---|---|---|---|
Montclair State (3-0) | 16 | 35 | 51 |
TCNJ (2-2) | 20 | 23 | 43 |
Nov 22, 2014