Mahwah, NJ – Senior forward Katie sire scored 21 points to lead four players in double figures as Montclair State won its third straight contest knocking off Ramapo College 69-52 at the Bradley Center on Wednesday evening.
Sophomore Alex McKinnon added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Red Hawks, who improved to 5-1 on the season, 2-0 in NJAC as it downed the Roadrunners for the 13th straight time. MSU leads the all-time series 54-9.
Ramapo jumped out to a 4-0 lead however MSU countered with a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to take control. Senior Taylor Harmon scored four straight to put the Red Hawks in front 7-6 and Sire connected on a three-pointer for a 10-6 advantage before a Kate Tobie layup made the score 12-6 with 2:08 left in the opening period.
MSU led 15-8 going into the second and widened its lead to 25-12 with 5:46 to play after McKinnon hit a jumper. The Roadrunners (2-4, 0-2 NJAC) dipped the deficit to nine points however Tobie drilled one from behind the arc to help the Red Hawks to a 34-24 lead at the half.
Ramapo's Samantha Rinaldi hit twice from the line with 6:46 left in the third quarter to get the hosts within 39-32 before the Red Hawks closed out the quarter with a 21-6 run. Sire began the spurt and scored nine in the run with Harmon finishing it off with two foul shots giving MSU a 61-38 lead.
Harmon finished with 12 points while freshman Taylor Brown added 11 along with six rebounds. Tobie handed out 11 assists.
Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, December 2 when it hosts Rutgers-Newark at the Panzer Athletic Center at 3:00 pm. It will be the first meeting between the teams since last year's NJAC Championship game won by the Red Hawks.
Saturday's contest will also be MSU's Annual Toy Drive sponsored by TALON. All fans bringing a new or unwrapped toy to the contest will receive free admission.