No. 7 Montclair downs Marymount

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Montclair coach Karin Harvey has lost just three regular season games and none at home in the last three seasons.
Montclair State athletics file photo

Senior forward Melissa Tobie scored 20 points and added six rebounds, six steals, five blocks and three assists as No. 7 Montclair State kept its distance from Marymount in a 63-55 victory at the Panzer Athletic Center on Tuesday afternoon.

The victory kept the Red Hawks unbeaten at 10-0 and also gave head coach Karin Harvey her 153rd career victory as she took over the top spot on the all-time wins list at MSU. Harvey, now in her eighth season, surpassed Maureen Wendelken (1976-83) and is now 153-54 in her tenure with Montclair State including a 67-4 mark since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.

Junior guard Kievanna Lacey had 16 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Saints (6-2), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Although it would lead for a majority of the contest, the Red Hawks found themselves behind for much of the first half as they struggled from the field missing their first nine attempts in a 10-of-32 performance in the first 20 minutes.

Using a 26-15 advantage on the boards in the first half, the Saints were able to take a 12-6 lead with 10:55 left in the opening period as Dominique Dickens connected from short range.  MSU tied the game at 12-12 on a layup by Janitza Aquino with 8:36 to go and took the lead for good when Aquino drained a three-pointer with 5:08 left for 22-20 lead. Aquino added two more from the charity stripe and a layup by Tobie to end the first half gave MSU a 28-22 lead at the break.

In the second half, a Tobie three-pointer extended the Montclair lead to 33-24 however Leah Hurst countered that with one of her own keeping Marymount close at 33-29 with 16:40 to go. Tobie responded with another three-point to start a 9-3 run as the Red Hawks got the lead double digits at 42-32 with just under 14 minutes showing.

The Saints whittled the lead down to four points and trailed 52-47 with 3:27 remaining after Lacey hit the second of two foul shots. Tobie scored the next three points and, after a Lacey layup, hit two more from the line with 91 seconds left for a 57-49 MSU advantage.

Aquino finished with 15 points for Montclair State with freshman Katie Sire adding nine points along with seven rebounds. Kate Tobie grabbed eight rebounds with junior Kayla Ceballos collected six points off the bench. Freshman Taylor Harmo also had six points in addition to three rebounds and three steals.

Nicole Viscuso had eight points, three rebounds and four assists while Dominique Dickens added nine points and six rebounds. Hurst contributed six points and seven rebounds with Miranda Krott adding six points and eight rebounds.

Montclair State is now off until Sunday, Dec. 29 when it hosts the Sheraton Parsippany Holiday Tournament. MSU will face Baruch at 5:30 p.m. on the first day with Salisbury taking on Illinois Wesleyan at 7:30 pm. The tournament continues on Monday, Dec. 30 with the third-place and championship games slated for 1 and 3 p.m., respectively.

Marymount heads to Daytona Beach, Fla., this weekend. The Saints will face Roanoke on Friday, December 19 at noon before facing Springfield on Saturday, Dec. 20 also at noon.