Box Score MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Rutgers University-Newark seniors
Jade Howard and
Sharee Gordon battled inside for 39 points and 20 rebounds, but unbeaten and nationally-ranked Montclair State overcame a strong opening 15 minutes by the Scarlet Raiders to post a 76-60 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in the Panzer Athletic Center.
Howard finished with game highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds while Gordon added 18 points and nine rebounds plus a game-high four blocked shots as the Scarlet Raiders (3-3, NJAC 1-1) put an early scare into the 2-time defending league champions. Howard added three assists and two steals while Gordon tallied three steals.
The game was ultimately settled at the free throw line where the Raiders made two of just four attempts while the Red Hawks (6-0, NJAC 3-0) poured in 19 of 24 tries.
Sophomore guards
Maria Simmons and
Shala Glenn each totaled eight points for the Raiders while junior guard
Arianna Williams added five points, but only the Rutgers-Newark starters scored as the MSU got nine points from its bench. Simmons dished out four assists and made three steals while Glenn and Simmons each had two assists and a steal.
Senior guard Janitza Aquino gunned in five of eight shots from beyond the arch on her way to 21 points to lead four MSU players in double digits. Sophomore forward Sage Bennett made seven of nine free throws to finish with 17 points and seven rebounds while freshman forward Katie Sire tallied 15 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior forward Melissa Tobie added a game-high of seven assists while chipping in 14 points for the Red Hawks who entered the game ranked seventh in the D3Hoops.com and ninth in the USA TODAY Sports polls.
A Howard jump shot capped an 11-2 Raider run which put Rutgers-Newark into a 21-17 lead with 9:20 left in the opening period, but Aquino and the Red Hawks countered with a decisive 23-7 rally to finish the period. Aquino drained four treys as MSU pushed its lead to 39-28 with 2:42 left on a layup by Tobie. A Gordon layup with 2:42 left in the half sliced the lead to nine, but the only point scored for the rest of the period was a free throw by Bennett as the Red Hawks carried a 10-point advantage into the intermission. Rutgers-Newark trailed despite hitting 51.9% (14-27) of its field goals tries for the half.
Sire had three field goals as the Red Hawks opened the second half with a 9-2 rally. A conventional 3-point play by Howard with 14 minutes left was a close as Rutgers-Newark would get before the hosts pulled away to lead by as many as 19 points.
Rutgers-Newark hosts The College of New Jersey in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome Arena on Saturday. The women's game tips off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8.
