Glassboro, NJ – Sophomore Katie Sire posted a double-double with 21 points, none bigger than her layup with five seconds remaining as Montclair State pulled into a first-place tie in the NJAC with a 71-70 win at Rowan University on Wednesday evening.
Junior Rachel Krauss scored a career-best 22 points as the Red Hawks (17-6) extended their winning streak to six games and are now tied with the Profs and Stockton for the top spot in the conference at 13-3. Montclair, which entered the game at No. 3 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional rankings, also avenged a 68-64 loss to Rowan (19-4) at home in early January.
MSU closes out its conference slate at New Jersey City on Saturday, February 13 at 2:00 pm before hosting Stockton at the Panzer Athletic Center in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, February 17.
The Red Hawks charged out to a 15-4 lead after one quarter and led by 10 points midway through the second before Rowan used a 17-7 run to tie the game at 29-29 with 14 seconds before halftime. Krauss beat the halftime buzzer with a layup giving MSU a two-point lead at the break.
Three lead changes and five ties defined the third quarter. Sire converted a three-point play to knot the game at 46-46 with a minute to go however Rowan got the last four as Valerie Garofalo and Ashanti Bishop scored on layups for a 50-46 Profs advantage heading into the final period.
Melissa Lake connected on a three pointer two minutes into the fourth boosting the Rowan lead to 55-50. Montclair State countered with an 8-2 run capped by a Krauss three with 7:55 left putting the Red Hawks back in front. Lake regained the lead for the hosts on the next possession and the back-and-forth swung to MSU with 4:34 to play when Taylor Harmon drained a three making the score 62-61.
Bishop's three-point play with just over three minutes turned the scoreboard in favor of Rowan and she hit two from the line less than a minute later for a 66-62 lead with 2:37 to play. Krauss would hit a free thrown and Sire's layup with 1:18 deadlocked the game at 67-67. Anyssa Sanchez made one free throw as Rowan once again took the lead and a steal by Alex Raring and layup by Garofalo made the score 70-67 with 48 seconds remaining.
Krauss would get to of those back with 37 seconds hitting twice from the line and a turnover by the Profs put Montclair in position to take the lead. Following a timeout, the Red Hawks moved the ball around before Sire drove to the basket and hit the layup giving MSU the 71-70 advantage.
Rowan would get a chance however the Profs turned the ball over with two seconds left.
Sire grabbed 10 rebounds to record her 12th double-double of the year and collected four assists and two steals. Krauss totaled eight rebounds while Sage Bennett contributed 11 points and five rebounds. Zoe Curtis was the fourth player in double figures for MSU with 10 points along with three rebounds.