Hoboken, NJ (1/17/12) – Freshman forward Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, NJ / Roselle Catholic) scored 25 points and added seven rebounds as Montclair State won its third straight contest knocking off Stevens, 68-55 at the Canavan Arena on Tuesday evening.

Sophomore guard Theresa Towns (Morristown, NJ / Morristown) added 17 points and six boards while senior Jaime Ericson (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) chipped in with 15 points as the Red Hawks improved to 11-6 on the season with the victory.

MSU trailed by five points early as the Ducks (6-8) jumped out to a 14-9 lead with 12:20 to play before Montclair State outscored Stevens 14-4 over the next six minutes to turn that deficit into a 23-18 advantage. Ericson scored the first five points in the run and a three-pointer by Michelle Montagna (New Providence, NJ / New Providence) made the score 21-18. Tobie capped off the spurt with a layup as MSU led 23-18 with 6:49 to go before half.

Stevens fought back and regained the lead, 28-27 with a minute remaining as Victoria Webber connected on a jumper.
However, Tobie answered at the other eight with eight ticks as MSU took a 29-28 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, a Towns’ layup and two foul shots by Tobie early in the period extended the lead to 35-28 three minutes in.  The Ducks trimmed the lead to 37-35 but Tobie scored five consecutive points to push the lead back to 42-35 with 13:42 left.

The Red Hawks’ lead would get to as many as 11 points, including a 58-47 lead with 3:29 to play as Tobie connected twice from the foul line. Stevens would get as close as five points, 54-49 with 1:23 on the clock however Montclair sank six straight attempts at the charity stripe to seal the game.

MSU went 20-of-25 from the foul line in the game, including 13-of-13 from Ericson (4-of-4) and Tobie (9-of-9) combined. Montagna and Taylor Jeffers (Franklin, NJ /Franklin) each had five points with Jeffers grabbing six caroms.

Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, January 21 as they host Rowan University in the Panzer Athletic Center at 3:00 pm.