MONTCLAIR, NJ – Rutgers-Newark junior guard
Martyna Ruminska netted 16 points, but Montclair State posted a 61-45 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in the Panzer Athletic Center.
Montclair State 61, Rutgers-Newark 45
Ruminska drained four of eight 3-point attempts and added two steals and an assist but the Scarlet Raiders (7-14, NJAC 2-8) made just 30% of their field goals for the evening while the Red Hawks (13-8, NJAC 7-3) knocked down 51% from the field.
Sophomore guard
Jared Tactuk added 14 points, a team-high three assists and a steal while freshman forward
Keira Williams came off the bench for seven points and seven rebounds.
Senior forward
Courtney Vacca hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds, but she scored a season-low three points on one for seven shooting from the floor. Sophomore forward
Shatanay McCaskill collected seven rebounds, made a team-high three steals, handed out two assists and score two points.
Senior Catherine Cristino led all scorers with 21 points, including her 1,000th career point, to pace MSU which got 10 points and 10 rebounds from forward Kisandra Ayanbeku. Cristino dished out six assists, two fewer than guard Jackie Berry who also added six rebounds and a game-high four steals. Guard Jamilee Pflug score 13 points and added five rebounds for the Red Hawks who completed a regular-season sweep of the Raiders.
Plug had nine points and Ayanbeku, eight, during an opening 27-8 run for Montclair State. Rutgers-Newark got no closer than 12 points before the Red Hawks took a 38-19 lead to the locker room at intermission.
A pair of free throws by Tactuk closed the game to 54-43 with 2:46 left, but the Raiders would get no closer.
The Raiders lost for the seventh straight time in conference play.
Rutgers-Newark hosts New Jersey City in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome on Saturday. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 8 o’clock.