MONTCLAIR, N.J. – History was made at the Panzer Athletic Center Thursday night as the Montclair State women’s basketball team hosted the Valley Forge Patriots for the first time ever.
The Patriots came into Panzer shorthanded with six only players suited up in uniform. Like a shark looking for blood, Montclair State took full advantage.
With the victory, the Red Hawks record improved to 4-0. Taj Roberts | The Montclarion
The Red Hawks started out the game strong, scoring nine unanswered after a putback layup by freshman forward Alyssa Craigwell to give them a 9-0 lead.
This would be foreshadowing for the remainder of the first half as the Red Hawks dominated the paint, racking up 12 offensive rebounds and 26 points from inside the paint in the half.
To go along with controlling the paint, Montclair State was able to create scoring opportunities off turnovers, scoring 13 points off 13 Valley Forge turnovers in the half.
The Red Hawks finished the half leading 42-18.
The Red Hawks finished the half leading 42-18. Taj Roberts | The Montclarion
The second half was more of a seesaw affair as the Patriots seemed to find their footing offensively; however, like the first half, the Red Hawks were able to force the Patriots into 13 more turnovers while only committing nine for the entirety of the game.
This discrepancy allowed the Red Hawks to hold their lead and win in convincing fashion to the score of 80-50.
Junior guard Alexis Strollo explained how the team playing with energy and as a cohesive unit led to their strong defense.
“I think our energy was really good and we worked together,” Strollo said. “We’re working on our help side, and when all those things come together our defense is great and leads to transition points.”
Offensively, the Red Hawks had a balanced scoring effort with four players reaching double figures. Senior forward and leading scorer on the season Olivia Vero led the team with 14 points.
For Valley Forge, senior guard Dominique Barnes finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds but also committed 10 turnovers.
With the victory, the Red Hawks record improved to 4-0 heading into conference play – the team’s best start to a season since the 2016-2017 season.
Women's basketball is off to their best start to a season since 2016-17. Taj Roberts | The Montclarion
Head coach Karin Harvey expressed what that means and how she’s excited about the dynamic of the team overall.
“We’ve been down the last few years and to be back up a little bit, we’re excited,” said Coach Harvey. “We got a little bit of everything: we got the point guard position, we got the two post players, we got the defense. We need our shooting to be a little bit better, but I think we have all the pieces to continue to move forward so I’m excited.”
According to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) website, the Red Hawks were picked to finish 7th in the conference’s preseason coaches poll.
Coach Harvey was asked if there was any extra motivation going into the season and if the winning streak gives the team confidence heading into conference play.
“I think my team took that a little personally to be voted seventh in the preseason [poll],” said Harvey. “But we haven’t won a conference game yet because we haven’t played so, you know, it’s good motivation for us.”
Montclair State will enter conference play Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Glassboro, N.J. to take on the 1-2 Rowan Profs.
Montclair State will enter conference play on Tuesday afternoon. Taj Roberts | The Montclarion
The Profs are heading into the game on a two-game losing streak, so the Red Hawks will need to come out focused in order to get the win. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
