Subscribe to the Junior forward Kisandra Ayanbeku (Brockton, MA / Randolph) added nine points and five rebounds as the Red Hawks had their two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 7-5 on the year. Ayanbeku and Cristino were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
Host Marymount jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first five
minutes before the Red Hawks scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a
one-point lead. Cristino got MSU on the board with a layup and
back-to-back three-pointers by Cristino and Jamilee Pflug (Clark, NJ / Arthur L. Johnson) put MSU ahead 10-9 with 12:34 to go.
The teams would trade the lead four times with MSU taking its last
advantage with 7:39 to go as sophomore Jaime Ericson (Flemington, NJ /
Hunterdon Central) hit from behind the arc to make the score 20-19. But
Marymount would close out the half with a 14-8 run to take a 33-28 lead
in to the break
In the second half, Ayanbeku scored on a layup as MSU drew to 35-30
with just under 18 minutes to play. But a three-point play by Kathleen
Brown and layup from Maame Amponsah boosted the lead to 41-30 for
Marymount.
Trailing
by as many as 14 points, Montclair would make one last run, trimming
the deficit to 60-56 as Cristino converted a three-point play with 1:42
to go. But free throws down the stretch by Brown, Amanda Billy and
Christina LaVigna gave the Saints their final margin of victory as they
stopped Montclair defensively for all but a shot with two seconds to go.
Pflug finished with nine points, three assists and three steals for the Red hawks while Ericson, Jackie Berry (Tuckerton, NJ / Pinelands Regional) and Devin Feeney (Whippany, NJ / Whippany Park) each netted six points. Berry collected six assists and four steals.