Montclair, NJ - Junior guard Julia Sutton scored 14 points and classmate and forward Trisha Peterson added 12 as Montclair State recorded the 300th career victory for head coach Karin Harvey in a 67-46 win over Kean University at the Panzer Athletic Center on Friday evening.
Senior guard Taylor Brown added nine points and eight rebounds as the Red Hawks (3-1, 3-0 NJAC) posted their third straight victory.
Harvey earned the milestone and is now 300-102 in her career, 287 coming in the last 14 seasons at the helm of the Montclair State program.
Shannon McCoy and Kayla Anderson finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively for Kean (0-3, 0-3 NJAC).
Sutton scored the first basket of the game, and after Kean responded, MSU put in the next six as Brown drained a three-pointer and Peterson a layup with a Brown free throw making the score 8-2 midway through the opening period. McCoy's layup with 1:22 to play gave the Cougars what turned out to be their only lead of the contest at 10-9. Kendall Hodges connected from the line inside the last minute before Peterson buried a three as MSU led 13-10 after one.
Olivia Nilsen began the second quarter with a three to tie the game again, however, the Red Hawks went on an 11-0 run over the next five minutes to take control. Sutton and Hodges sank back-to-back three's and sophomore Saniya Myers hit a layup making the score 21-13. Brown turned a steal from Peterson into three more as MSU led by 11 with 4:34 to go before halftime. MSU would take a 30-21 lead into halftime.
The Red Hawks blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Kean 24-6. McCoy got the visitors within 34-26 with 7:42 left on a jumper in the paint but that would be the last points the Cougars would get until the final minute. Meanwhile, Montclair State tallied 18 straight beginning with a three-point play from junior Kelly Smith. Hodges put in consecutive layups and a jumper later in the period by Kayla Bush widened the lead to 47-26. Peterson added a three-point play of her own with Bush registering the final two points at the line for a 52-26 advantage.
Hodges collected eight points and three rebounds for MSU, which got five points and seven rebounds from Bush. Nickie Carter also added five points as the Red Hawks saw 12 different players score in the contest.
The two teams will square off again on Saturday, February 13 at the Harwood Arena in Union, NJ.