Wayne, NJ (11/30/08) –Colby (3-1) survived several Montclair State (1-4) rallies to score the game’s final five points, earning a 73-69 overtime women’s basketball victory Nov. 30 in the Red Hawk/Pioneer Classic at William Paterson’s Recreation Center. 

Junior guard Sam Allen (Bridgton, Maine/Lake Region) led the Mules with 19 points, adding seven rebounds, while all-tournament team selection Julianne Kowalski (Montville, N.J./Montville) posted 12 points and nine rebounds for Colby. Freshman forward Rachael Mack (Augusta, Maine/Cony) added seven tallies, three assists and a game-best 11 rebounds. 

For Montclair State, sophomore Jamilee Pflug (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) posted 18 points and four assists.  Junior guard Jackie Berry (Tuckerton, N.J./Pinelands Regional) added 17 tallies, six rebounds and four assists to earn a selection to the All-Tournament Team.  Junior forward Catherine Cristino (Farmingdale, N.J./Colts Neck) scored 11 points, and freshman guard Jaime Ericson (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) chipped in 10 tallies. 

Trailing by four (28-24) at halftime, Montclair State opened the second period with a 10-5 burst to take its first lead of the game, 34-33, with 16:52 on the clock.  Four lead changes marked the next 2:23 until the Red Hawks seemingly took control of the contest with a 9-2 run, opening up an eight-point bulge with 12:30 remaining.  Colby mounted a comeback of its own, eventually pushing ahead 59-51 (4:12), and was still leading by the same margin at the 2:54 mark (63-55) when MSU’s Pflug kick-started a Red Hawk run with a three-pointer, followed by a Jenna Totaro (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) traditional three-point play and a Pflug free throw, for a 63-62 Colby edge with 1:07 to play.  The Mules made a pair of shots from the charity strip to extend their lead to three (65-62, 18.8 seconds) before Montclair’s Cristino drained a trey from the left corner with 9.3 ticks left, forging a 65-65 tie.  Allen’s three-pointer from the top of the key hit the back iron as time expired for Colby, and the two teams headed to overtime. 

Neither team could get on the scoreboard until the 3:38 mark of the extra session, when Berry converted a layup to give Montclair a two-point lead (67-65).  A Jilian Vaughan (Wareham, Mass./Tabor Academy) free throw and two successful Kowalski trips to the line pushed Colby ahead by one (68-67, 1:41), but Berry answered with two free throws of her own (69-68, 1:23).  Kowalski rolled to the basket for two points (70-69, 56.8), giving Colby a lead it would not relinquish.  The Mules made three of four free throws down the stretch, securing the win. 

Colby scored the game’s first eight points, sprinting out to a 21-6 lead with 10:18 remaining in the opening period.  However, Montclair State began to chip away at the 15-point lead, scoring eight unanswered to eventually get within four at 23-19 with 5:08 on the clock.  The Mules responded with five straight points from Allen to extend the lead back to nine (28-19, 3:19), but a Cristino three-pointer and two Berry free throws made it a 28-24 Colby edge at halftime. 

Montclair State will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 3, opening New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play at home against New Jersey City at 5:00 p.m.