MONTCLAIR, NJ – The Montclair State University women's basketball team won against visiting Rowan University, 69-55 on Saturday.
The Red Hawks are 14-8 on the season with a 10-5 New Jersey Athletic Conference mark. The Profs have a 13-9 record and are 11-4 in the conference.
Guard Kim Calloway (so. Morristown, NJ/Morristown) led Montclair State with 16 points and five rebounds. Forward Alex McKinnon (jr. Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) scored 11 points, while guard Julia Sutton (fr. York, PA/Dallastown), guard Taylor Brown (so. Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) and forward Domonique Wirsing (sr. Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) all had nine points apiece.
Guard
Nicole Byrne (sr. Brick, NJ/Brick Mem.) had a team-high 13 points for Rowan. Forward
Jenna Hoffner (jr. Medford, NJ/Shawnee) produced nine points and six boards. Guard
Alexis Kriley (so. Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) and center
Ayanna Johnson (fr. Ewing, NJ/The Pennington School) each chipped in eight points. Johnson grabbed eight boards and had three blocks.
The Profs took an early 4-2 lead as Johnson hit two layups in the opening quarter. The Red Hawks answered with an 11-0 run to pull ahead, 13-4. Rowan battled back as guard
Olivia Rulon (sr. Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) hit a three (3:55) and Johnson made a layup to trail 15-9 at 3:04. Byrne drained a jumper with 1:03 left in the first to cut the deficit to four (15-11) going into the second.
The Brown and Gold started slow in the second as Montclair State built a nine point (22-13) advantage, after a jumper from Wirsing at 6:41. The Profs picked up the pace as they outscored the Red Hawks 9-5 for the remainder of the quarter. Hoffner started the scoring with a layup at 4:54. After Montclair State made a three, Rowan notched five straight free throws with four from Kriley and one by forward
Jazlyn Duverglas (fr. Hammonton, NJ/Cedar Creek) to trail, 25-20 (1:36). Rulon sunk a jumper to set the halftime score at 27-22.
Rowan came out battling in the third quarter. After Wirsing completed a three-point play to take a 30-24 advantage, Rulon and Peters hit back-to-back jumpers to cut the margin to 30-28 (8:16). The Profs stumbled for the rest of the frame as the Red Hawks outscored Rowan 25-9 for a 55-37 lead. The Brown and Gold fought back in the last stanza, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Next, the women's basketball team hosts William Paterson University on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m.
