RED HAWKS HOLD OFF RUTGERS-NEWARK IN NJAC WOMEN'S HOOP ACTION, 60-53

Montclair, NJ (1/9/08) - Sophomore Catherine Cristino (Farmingdale, NJ / Colts Neck) scored 18 points while senior guard Jessica Garrabrant (Denville, NJ / Morris Knolls) added 12 as Montclair State sustained a pair of second-half rallies by Rutgers-Newark for a 60-53 in New Jersey Athletic Conference Women's Basketball action at Panzer Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

Juniors Marianne McGovern (Fair Lawn, NJ / Paramus Catholic) and Amy Bonk (Edison, NJ / JP Stevens) each added 10 as the Red Hawks posted their second straight win, upping their record to 8-5 overall, 1-1 in the NJAC. Montclair posted its fourth straight win over the Scarlet Raiders and now lead the all-time series 38-4.

Stephanie Ross (Nutley, NJ / Nutley) had 13 points and Nerlande Nicolas (Maplewood, NJ / Columbia) added 10 for the Scarlet Raiders, who had their four-game winning streak snapped in falling to 10-3 overall, 0-2 in the conference.

Montclair State led 33-19 at halftime, and pushed its advantage to 37-21 on a jumper by Cristino with 17:40 to go. However the Scarlet Raiders chipped away at the lead over the next seven minutes and got within 39-38 as Nicolas scored on a layup. MSU countered with nine of next 11 points, including three foul shots by McGovern as the Montclair lead was resotred to 48-40 with 7:09 left.

Again Rutgers-Newark battled back closing within 50-48 with 4:43 left as Sabrina Sanchez (Keasbey, NJ / Woodbridge) drained a three pointer.But Garrabrant scored on a reverse layup and McGovern buried tow free throws as MSU boosted the lead back to 54-48 with 3:41 left. Another Sanchez three pointer with 2:26 to go made it a three-point game, 54-41 but Garrabrant scored four straight points as the Red Hawks went back up by seven with 1:26 left.

Both teams return to NJAC action on Saturday, January 12. Montclair State travels to The College of New Jersey for a 1:00 pm start with the Lions while Rutgers-Newark is back home at the Golden Dome in Newark for a 5:30 tip versus Rowan University.