Montclair, NJ – Senior forward Katie Sire scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds as No. 23 Montclair State used a solid defensive effort in the second quarter in a 68-51 victory over Kean University in the NJAC opener for both teams on Wednesday evening.

Senior guard Kate Tobie added 14 points and seven assists as the Red Hawks (3-1, 1-0 NJAC) bounced back from their first loss of the season and improved to 50-31 all-time against the Cougars. Montclair has captured the last three meetings.

Junior guard Marajiah Bacon led all scorers with 22 points for Kean, which fell back to the .500 mark at 2-2.

Tightly-contested through the first eight minutes, Kean took a 16-13 lead with 2:49 to play in the opening quarter after Payce Lange connected on a jumper. Montclair closed out the period with the final seven points. Taylor Harmon scored on a layup and gave the Red Hawks the lead for good with a jumper for a 17-6 lead with 1:25 to play. Tobie capped the run with a three-pointer in the final minute as Montclair State led 20-16.

MSU continued its run in the second scoring the first six points. Sire connected on a three-pointer and Tobie finished off a break with a layup with Sire hitting once from the foul line for a 26-16 lead with 7:31 left. Bacon snapped Kean's eight-minute scoring drought with a free throw but the Red Hawks closed out the half on a 10-1 run. Alex McKinnon and Domonique Wirsing had four points apiece with Harmon beating the halftime buzzer as MSU went into the locker room up 36-19.

Harmon finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Montclair State which got eight points and four rebounds from junior guard Janae Mayfield. Freshman Taylor Brown added six points and six rebounds.

Montclair State is now off until Monday, November 27 when it travels to Hoboken, NJ for a 6:00 pm intra-state matchup with Stevens.