Riverdale, NY (12/16/08) – In a rematch of last spring’s ECAC Metro Division First Round game, Montclair State posted its fourth straight victory as the Red Hawks edged host Mount St. Vincent, 82-80 on Tuesday eveing.

Junior forward Catherine Cristino (Farmingdale, NJ / Colts Neck) and freshman Jaime Ericson (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) each scored 22 points as the Red Hawks moved to 5-4 with their second straight overtime win. MSU has played four OT contests this season, going 2-2 in those games.

A pair of Dolphins recorded career nights as Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, NY) netted 29 points for the Mount and freshman Jen Mocanu (Middletown, NJ) added 25.  

Mount Saint Vincent jumped out quickly and pushed its lead to a game-high 12 points at 14-2 on one of seven Koerner three-point goals with 16:10 left in the first half. After a lay-up from Brittany Griffin (Suffern, NY) gave the Mount a 16-6 lead with 14:56 remaining in the first half, Montclair State outscored the Dolphins 33-22 to close the half on its way to a 39-38 lead at the intermission.  

Koerner led all scorers in the opening frame with 13 points on 4-8 shooting from the floor and 3-6 shooting from behind the arc. Cristino had a strong half for the Red Hawks finishing with 12 points on 4-6 shooting.  

The second half was tightly contested as it featured five ties with neither team holding a lead greater than four points. Mount Saint Vincent retook the lead under a minute into the second half on a Mocanu lay-up and jumped out to its largest lead of the period at four points on a another Mocanu lay-up with 17:11 left and then a Mocanu jumper with 16:24 left to give the Dolphins a 47-43 advantage.  

The Red Hawks would put together a run of their own and scored eight straight points capped by a Kisandra Ayanbeku (Burlington, NJ / Randolph) fast break bucket to put the visitors in front 51-47 with 14:15 left in regulation.  

The final 6:00 of regulation featured a pair of ties and four lead changes as the two teams exchanged baskets down the stretch. The Red Hawks took a 71-68 lead with 1:29 left before Mocanu tied the score at 71-71 with 31 seconds left to send the game to overtime.  

In overtime the Red Hawks outscored the Mount 11-9 and took a five point lead at 82-77 with 50 ticks left on an Ericson jumper. Koerner’s seventh three of the contest got the Mount to within two, but that was as close as the Dolphins would get.  

Montclair State (5-4) finished the contest shooting 40.8-percent (31-76) from the floor and knocked down seven three-pointers in the game. Ericson and Cristino each finished the game with 22 points. Ayanbeku netted 10 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds in the winning effort and Jackie Berry (Tuckerton, NJ / Pinelands Regional) finished just short of a triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.  

Mount Saint Vincent was led by Koerner who also set a career-high with seven three-pointers made. She finished off the night with seven rebounds and an assist. Mocanu added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals to her 25 points and Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY) finished with a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.  The Dolphins shot 42.4-percent from the floor (28-66) and 45.8-percent from three-point range on the night.

Montclair State held the edge on the glass however 48-44, including a 19-12 edge on the offensive side. The Red Hawks turned that edge into a 20-11 advantage in second chance points and a 32-20 edge in the paint.  

The loss drops Mount Saint Vincent to 4-4 overall on the season.

Montclair State is now off until Monday, December 29 as the Red Hawks head to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a pair of games. MSU takes on Elizabethtown on the 29th at 6:00 pm before meeting 12th-ranked Mary Washington on Tuesday, December 30 at 8:00 pm.