NJCU’S LATRESE MCNAIR MOVES INTO FIFTH PLACE IN STEALS IN DIVISION III HISTORY
Montclair State University received 22 points and 14 rebounds from senior forward Stephanie Machin (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) and the Red Hawks overcame several late comeback bids by New Jersey City University, as MSU defeated NJCU, 55-47, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division contest at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
In defeat, senior point guard LATRESE McNAIR (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) moved into fifth place in Division III history with 453 career steals. She is now 15th in the history of Division I, II and III in picks and needs two more to pass legend Dawn Staley of Virginia for 14th. McNair also became NJCU’s all-time leader in games started with 82, passing head coach ASHANTE TIMOLL (1996-00) on the all-time list.
The win for Montclair (13-9, 8-3 NJAC) is its fourth straight as MSU continued to roll, winning for the eighth time in 10 outings, to move into a tie for second place in the North Division with Rutgers-Newark. NJCU dropped to 8-14 overall and 3-9 NJAC. MSU leads the all-time series, 39-3, with eight straight decisions.
Machin shot 12-of-14 from the line—making half of MSU 24 conversions (24-36). She hit 5-of-14 from the field and had 11 of her 14 boards on the defensive end. Junior guard Jessica Garrabrant (Denville, NJ/Morris Knolls) finished with 12 rebounds, all defensively, and four steals. Senior forward Ferin Catlett (Lawn Side, NJ/Haddon Heights) contributed seven points and two blocks.
For NJCU, junior forward ARNESE GOODMAN (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) notched her second straight double-double and the fifth of her career, finishing with 19 points (7-17 FG) and 11 rebounds.
McNair, who played a full 40 minutes for the eighth time this year, tallied 16 points, with five steals, four rebounds and three assists. She now has played 3,064 minutes, and will break NJCU’s all-genders record in the category of 3,068, held by Hall-of-Famer Abdul Madison (1993-97), in the Knights’ next game.
McNair also upped her career scoring mark to 1,195.
With 103 steals this year, McNair has exceeded the century mark in swipes for the third consecutive year; she currently leads Division III in steals for the third year in a row.
Junior power forward TIFFANY BOYD (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln), who ranks No. 2 in Division III in blocked shots, finished with six points, six rebounds and four rejections, extending her single-season record to 71.
NJCU led 10-8 at 9:55 of the first period before the Hawks reeled off what proved to be an insurmountable 14-2 spurt, gaining a 22-12 lead with 1:16 remaining. The Knights shot 1-of-8 from the field in that span of 8:39, and committed seven turnovers before ending the skid. Machin had eight points during the MSU streak.
Leading 22-15 at the half, Montclair moved in front by as many as 13 points (33-20) with 14:01 left. MSU still led by 11, 39-28, with 8:50 left. NJCU attempted to rally with a 9-2 spurt that cut the deficit to four, 41-37 with 6:37 on the clock, after a three-pointer by Goodman.
Free throw shooting, including three by Machin allowed MSU push to regain a nine-point, 46-37 margin with 2:53 remaining. A fast-break bucket by McNair made it 49-44 with 41 seconds left and she later converted two free throws with 20.1 on the clock as the Knights again closed within four, 51-47, before junior guard Cynthia Warrington (Villas, NJ/Cape May Regional) and Machin converted four straight free-throws for the eight-point decision.
NJCU will play its final home regular season game on Wednesday, February 14 at 6 p.m. when it hosts Lincoln University (PA) on senior day in Jersey City. MSU is back in action that night when it visits Ramapo at 5:30 p.m.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score Montclair State University vs New Jersey City University 02/10/07 6 p.m. at Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) At Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY 55, NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 47 MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY (13-9, 8-3 NJAC) Stephanie Machin 5-14 12-14 22; Ferin Catlett 2-6 3-6 7; Cynthia Warrington 1-4 4-4 6; Jackie Berry 2-4 1-3 5; Marianne McGovern 2-3 0-1 5; Janelle Biamonte 2-3 0-0 4; Jessica Garrabrant 1-7 2-4 4; Jessica Horan 0-3 2-4 2; Amy Bonk 0-2 0-0 0; Meghan Kelley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-47 24-36 55. NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (8-14, 3-9 NJAC) Arnese Goodman 7-17 4-7 19; Latrese McNair 5-15 5-9 16; Tiffany Boyd 3-13 0-0 6; Bernice Amadeo 1-5 0-0 3; Michelle Vasquez 1-4 0-0 2; Trisha Sanon 0-3 1-2 1; Carolina Garcia 0-5 0-0 0; Natashia Clackley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-63 10-18 47. Montclair State University.... 22 33 - 55 New Jersey City University.... 15 32 - 47 3-point goals--Montclair State University 1-4 (Marianne McGovern 1-1; Cynthia Warrington 0-1; Jessica Horan 0-2), New Jersey City University 3-14 (Bernice Amadeo 1-3; Latrese McNair 1-4; Arnese Goodman 1-2; Carolina Garcia 0-2; Natashia Clackley 0-1; Michelle Vasquez 0-1; Tiffany Boyd 0-1). Fouled out--Montclair State University-Jackie Berry, New Jersey City University-Bernice Amadeo; Tiffany Boyd. Rebounds--Montclair State University 50 (Stephanie Machin 14), New Jersey City University 41 (Arnese Goodman 11). Assists--Montclair State University 8 (Marianne McGovern 3), New Jersey City University 10 (Bernice Amadeo 3; Tiffany Boyd 3; Latrese McNair 3). Total fouls--Montclair State University 18, New Jersey City University 23. Technical fouls--Montclair State University-None, New Jersey City University-None. A-202 Latrese McNair moves into fifth place in Division III history with 453 steals. Latrese McNair becomes NJCU's all-time leader in games started (82). Montclair leads all-time series, 39-3.