Sophomore Meghan Kelley (Newtown, CT/Newtown) had seven points and seven rebounds as the Red Hawks moved over the .500 mark at 8-7 overall, 4-1 in the league’s North Division. Montclair also upped its mark to 34-7 all-time against the Roadrunners.
Senior guard Keona Palmer (Port Reading, NJ/Woodbridge) had a game-high 17 points and 16 rebounds for Ramapo, which suffered its third straight defeat. The Roadrunners are now 4-11 overall, 0-5 in the North Division.
Montclair State scored the first eight points in the game as Ramapo missed their first eight attempts from the floor. Ferin Catlett (Lawnside, NJ/Haddon Heights) opened the game with a jumper and Garrabrant added a pair of free throws for a 4-0 advantage with 17:21 left. Sophomore Marianne McGovern (Fair Lawn, NJ/Paramus Catholic) added a layup before Garrabrant capped the run with a put back with 13:57 left. Tiffany China (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) got Ramapo on the board, but Kelley and McGovern scored 20 seconds apart as the Red Hawks got the lead to double digits, 12-2 with 12:55 to play in the opening period.
The Red Hawks would stretch the lead to as many as 16 as Amy Bonk (Edison, NJ/JP Stevens) scored on a layup for a 24-8 advantage with 3:45 left as MSU took a 29-14 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, freshman Kara Burnham’s (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) gave the Red Hawks their largest lead at 38-18 with 15:03. Ramapo would eventually trim the lead in half as Erica Maclin (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) scored on layup with 1:11 remaining. After a Montclair make at the foul line, Palmer closed out the game with two free throws for the final margin
Freshman Jackie Berry (Tuckerton, NJ/Pineland Regional) had seven points and five rebounds while McGovern chipped in with eight points.
Both teams are in action on Saturday, January 20. Ramapo will host Rowan University at the Bradley Center at 4:00 pm while Montclair State goes on the road to the Harwood Arena in Union, NJ to take on Kean University at 1:00 pm