NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark clawed its way back from a 16-point second-half deficit to stun Montclair State, 65-60, in overtime and clinch a berth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Sophomore guard Kristen Venning scored five of her 18 points in overtime when the Scarlet Raiders scored the final six points of the session while shutting out the Red Hawks for the final two minutes.

Junior guard Jared Tactuk netted 16 of her game-high 22 points while senior forward Jaleesa Coleman tallied 11 of her 17 and Venning netted a dozen of her 18 after halftime to lift the Scarlet Raiders (16-8, NJAC 6-7) into the six-team tournament field. It was Rutgers-Newark's final conference game of the season.

The Red Hawks (11-12, NJAC 4-7) can still play their way into the tournament field with wins over New Jersey City (5-18, NJAC 0-11) on Monday and Wednesday coupled with a pair of losses by Ramapo (15-8, NJAC 5-6) against North Division-leading William Paterson (20-3, NJAC 9-2) on the same days. Rutgers-Newark would garner the second seed in the North and an opening round home game under that scenario.

Senior forward Kisandra Ayanbeku had 20 points and 20 rebounds for the Red Hawks who failed to gain a sweep of the regular-season series against the Raiders. Junior guard Jaime Ericson added 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists for MSU while freshman guard Theresa Towns dished off a game-high nine assists to go along with five points.

Tactuk finished with eight rebounds, two assists and five steals for Rutgers-Newark while Coleman added seven rebounds, two assists and four steals. Venning notched a double-double with 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. The trio accounted for 57 of the Raiders' 65 points.

Ericson posted 13 points as MSU constructed a 34-23 halftime edge which swelled to 42-26 on a 3-point jumper by Ayanbeku with 16:25 left. But Tactuk had a pair of treys and 12 total points during a 25-9 rally which knotted the score at 51-51 with 7:41 remaining.

An Ayanbeku jumper gave the Red Hawks a 57-54 lead with 3:11 left, but the Raiders forced overtime by shutting out MSU for the rest of the half. Venning made one of two free throws with 1:33 remaining before freshman guard Mercedes Glover sank a pair from the charity line with 31 seconds left to level the score and sent the game into an extra session.

It was Senior Night with Coleman taking her final regular-season bow in The Golden Dome.

Rutgers-Newark closes out its regular season with a non-conference trip to Lehman College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Montclair State is at New Jersey City at 6 p.m. on Monday and home against the Gothic Knights on Wednesday 6 o'clock.