Montclair, NJ – Junior Katie Sire scored 24 points, including the 1,000th of her career as No. 15/16 Montclair State turned the tables on Stockton University, rolling past the Ospreys 79-53 at the Panzer Athletic Center on Saturday.
Junior Kate Tobie added a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists with Zoe Curtis scoring 17 points as Montclair picked up its 20th win while avenging a 68-65 overtime loss at Stockton on Monday. It is the fifth straight 20-win campaign for the Red Hawks and the 16th time in program history it has captured 20 or more wins in a season.
MSU also upped its NJAC mark to 13-2 remaining atop the league standings.
A quick start by the Ospreys (15-7, 10-5 NJAC) put Montclair State in an early hole at 9-2 before MSU climbed out of the deficit scoring seven points including a three by Taylor Harmon that knotted the game at 9-9 with 4:34 left. Lea Mendolla gave Stockton back the lead with a three of her own however the Red Hawks countered with a 12-0 run to end the period.
Five different players scored in the run with Tobie's three-point play tying the score. Harmon got the go-ahead basket and a three by Curtis with 1:17 left made the score 17-12. Alex McKinnon hit two from the line before Sire's layup capped the run giving MSU a 21-12 lead.
The scoring spurt continued into the second period and became a 23-0 run as MSU collected the first 11 points. Sire had four points in the 11-0 burst extending the Red Hawks' lead to 32-12 with 4:06 left. Sasha Williams ended the run and a lengthy Stockton scoring drought that covered 10:15.
MSU held Stockton to 29 percent (7-of-24) shooting in the first half and took a 40-18 lead into the break. Sire had 14 leaving her just one shy of the millennium mark.
That would come with 6:05 to go in the third as she took a pass on the right side and cut across the lane before scooping in a reverse layup making her the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 points in a career. The bucket gave MSU a 43-24 advantage which got as high as 22 points before a late push in the quarter allowed Stockton to get within 11 points at 53-42. But Curtis cut short the comeback with a three-point giving MSU a 56-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
Sire added eight rebounds and four steals to her day while Curtis grabbed six. Sage Bennett added six points and five rebounds with Harmon going for seven points and three rebounds. MSU forced Stockton into 26 turnovers and took advantage of those scoring 21 points off the miscues.
Montclair State returns to action on Wednesday, February 8 with a road contest at New Jersey City University beginning at 6:00 pm.