New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete feature, GABRIELLE RIVERA

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Montclair State University has not lost a game this season and on February 6, the Red Hawks demonstrated why they are a potential national championship contender. MSU used a 19-2 run midway through the first half to seize control of the game and were never challenged from there as Montclair defeated NJCU, 79-36, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
Montclair, ranked #7 nationally by D3hoops.com and 9^th in the USA Today Sports Division III Top 25 Coaches' Poll, entered the game as one of three unbeaten teams in the nation and improves to 23-0 and 15-0 in the league. NJCU falls to 5-18 (1-14 NJAC).
 
Montclair, which has won every game this season by double figures (a minimum of 11 points), and leads the nation in scoring margin at 28.8 per game coming in, led 48-21 at the intermission, shooting 18-for-41 in the first period (.439). MSU forced 17 first half turnovers and held a 20-3 edge in points off giveaways during the first 20 minutes.
 
Meanwhile, the Red Hawks had a 16-4 advantage in offensive rebounds in the first half, translating to an 18-2 cushion in second chance points. MSU held a 28-6 differential in points in the paint in the first half.
 
Three Montclair players amassed double figures in scoring in the first 20 minutes as seven-time NJAC Rookie of the Week Shalette Brown (Somerset, NJ/Franklin Township), sophomore forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ/Roselle Catholic) and senior forward Taylor Jeffers (Franklin Township, NJ/Franklin) combined for 38 points in the opening period. Brown had a double-double in her first 15 minutes of action (10 points, 11 rebounds) while Tobie added 15 and Jeffers 13 in the opening half.
 
Those three standouts all finished in double figures. Tobie finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 24 minutes, shooting 8-of-13 overall, while Brown added on to her half-time double-double, finishing with 15 rebounds and 14 points (6-13 FG) in 26 minutes. Jeffers contributed 17 points, making 6-of-8 from the floor, with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes.
 
Senior forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) paced NJCU with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, making 2-of-4 from three-point distance. It was her third double-figure scoring effort of the season and 16^th of her career. Rookie center DESEREE JOHNSON (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Regional) scored all eight of her points in the first half. She shot 3-of-6 from the field and hit 2-of-4 from three-point distance but went 0-for-5 in the second half.
 
Sophomore point guard ASHLEY VAZQUEZ (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) had her streak of consecutive games in double figures snapped at nine straight.
 
Also for MSU, junior guard Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, IL/Bolingbrook) added nine points (4-9 FG) and five steals. Freshman guard Kelly Williams (Titusville, NJ/Hopewell Valley) chipped in four assists.
 
Montclair finished the game with a 48-8 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded NJCU, 53-32, including 21-11 on the offensive glass, to set up a 22-5 second-chance points differential. MSU added 24 points off turnovers and had a 22-9 edge in fast break scoring.  
 
The Red Hawks outscored NJCU, 31-15, in the second period, when the visitors shot 14-of-28 (.500) and limited NJCU to 6-of-31 (.194). The Knights shot 25.0 percent for the game (14-56) but did hit six threes. NJCU shot only four free throws all night as Montclair committed just eight fouls. Montclair's largest lead of the game was 48 points with 8:26 left in the second half. NJCU only committed six turnovers in the final 20 minutes, but MSU pushed its lead to 30 points in the first 40 seconds of the second half and its advantage reached 40 with 12:39 to play.
 
NJCU plays its final road game of the 2012-13 campaign on Saturday, February 9 at 1 p.m. against The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ.