Box Score 

WAYNE, N.J. – Montclair State (18-7, 11-2 NJAC) wrapped up the North Division's top seed for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Women's Basketball Tournament with a 78-68 victory against host William Paterson (18-7, 10-3 NJAC) Feb. 18 at the Pioneers' Rec Center. William Paterson participated in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's “Pink Zone” initiative, collecting donations and donating the night's gate receipts to The Jimmy V Foundation's WBCA/Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

The Red Hawks will receive a first-round tournament bye, and will host a semifinal game Wednesday, Feb. 25, against the winner of the Kean/Rutgers-Newark first-round contest. The second-seeded Pioneers will host the South Division's third seed, Rowan, in a first-round contest Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1:00 p.m.

Twice Montclair State came out of the locker room firing, sprinting out to a 13-4 lead to start the first half, and transforming a 38-34 halftime deficit into a 60-45 advantage midway through the second period. In each case, William Paterson fought back, scoring five of the final seven points of the opening period for to take the four-point edge into the locker room, and engineering a 20-7 spurt to pull ahead by one at 68-67 with 3:52 to play.

The Red Hawks held the Pioneers scoreless for more than seven minutes to stakes themselves to the largest lead of the game for either team (60-45, 10:45), thanks in part to eight points off the hot hand of Kara Burham, as William Paterson missed seven straight shots and turned the ball over five times during the dry spell.

Five straight points from junior Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) and back-to-back three-pointers from classmate Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) made it a five-point game (61-56, 8:50), and the two teams traded free throws until William Paterson's BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) sent home a layup at the 6:51 mark (63-60). A Catherine Cristino bucket for MSU was followed by a Kelly McCourt (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) basket for the Pioneers, and a Haledjian layup pulled the Pioneers within one at 67-64 with 5:33 to play.

Another Cristino layup again gave the Red Hawks a three-point edge, but Haledjian answered with a 28-foot three-pointer as the shot clock expired, knotting the score at 67-67 at the 5:06 mark. Two turnovers and a missed trey gave Absatu Mustapha (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) a chance to put the Pioneers on top, and her one-for-two trip to the line made the score 68-67 in WP's favor 74 seconds later.

Montclair State closed out the contest with an 11-0 run, as William Paterson missed four final shots and had four turnovers down the stretch. The Red Hawks got their 11 tallies from five different players during the final 2:52 to earn the victory.

Junior forward Kisandra Ayanbeku scored a game-best 25 points for Montclair, adding seven rebounds and three steals. Cristino poured in 16 points, Burnham had 12, and Marianne McGovern added 10.

Haledjian led the Pioneers with 19 points and five assists, while Lucas added 14 tallies and Erin Cook (Princeton, N.J./Princeton) collected 10 points and seven boards.

MSU shot a blazing 51.0 (12-27) percent from the floor, including a 13-for-22 (.591) effort during the second half. WP shot 41.9 (26-62) percent overall, and out-rebounded the Red Hawks 37-31.