Montclair, NJ – Senior guard Janitza Aquino (Kearny, NJ / Kearny) scored 12 points while senior forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) recorded her fourth consecutive double-double as No. 9/11 Montclair State cruised to a 64-45 victory over The College of New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman guard Katie Sire (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan) chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals as the Red Hawks (17-1, 10-1 NJAC) posted their third consecutive victory. Montclair State also swept the season set with the Lions running their current winning streak against TCNJ to eight games.
Junior guard Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ / St. John Vianney) finished with 13 points and five assists for the Lions (9-9, 4-7 NJAC), who fell for the fourth time in their last five games.
Tobie, who finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds in addition to six assists, two blocks and two steals, scored the first seven points for MSU as the Red Hawks got out to a 19-7 lead in the first nine minutes. TCNJ's Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT / Trumbull) connected from behind the arc to give the Lions their only lead of the game at 5-4 before MSU went on a 15-2 run over a five-minute span.
Tobie drilled a three-point to start the run and guard Kayla Ceballos (Brooklyn, NY / Christ the King) hit another before Sire's layup in the lane made the score 12-5. Jess Lynch (Sandy Hook, CT / Newtown stopped the mini run with a layup however a layup by Sage Bennett (Sicklerville, NJ / Winslow), a three by Aquino and two free throws from Sire staked MSU to the 12-point lead with 10:58 to play.
Cindy Napolitano (Wall, NJ / St. Rose) hit from behind the three-point line to get TCNJ within 21-14 however Montclair erupted with 17 of the next 20 points in the game. Aquino hit a pair of three's while Bennett scored four points as a Kate Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) with 2:49 left gave the Red Hawks a 38-17 advantage en route to a 38-20 lead at the break.
A Sire basket to open the second half doubled the Montclair State lead and the Lions would get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
Bennett finished with nine points for Montclair State while Ceballos added eight points. Freshman Taylor Harmon (Saddle Brook, NJ / Saddle Brook) scored five points. Aquino rounded out her afternoon with four rebounds and three assists.
The Red Hawks return to action on Wednesday, January 28 with a 6:00 pm road NJAC contest at Rutgers-Newark. Montclair State won the first meeting with the Scarlet Raiders, 76-60 at home on December 3.