Cougars Advance to NJAC
Championship Game
MONTCLAIR, N.J. (2/25/09) - Sophomore forward
Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway, N.J.) registered a
double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds and led four players
in double figures as Kean University rolled past Montclair State,
76-55 in the semifinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference
Women's Basketball Championship Tournament at the MSU Student
Recreation Center on Wednesday evening.
Junior forward Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.)
(pictured right) added a game-high 18 points for Kean which will
face The College of New Jersey for the NJAC Championship on
Saturday, February 28 at Packer Hall in Ewing, NJ with the winner
grabbing the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III
Women's Basketball Championship. Tipoff is slated for 1:00 pm.
It will be the third meeting of the season between the Lions and
the third time the two have met in the title game in the last six
years. Kean has won the two previous contests in 2002 and 2007. The
teams split the regular-season contests with each winning at home.
Kean bested the Lions 74-72 in Union on January 29 with TCNJ taking
the second contest 73-61 on February 18, a game that gave New
Jersey the South Division title.
The Cougars will also look to become the first three-peat
champion in the league since Rowan University won four consecutive
titles from 1996-99.
Junior guard Jackie Berry (Tuckerton, N.J.)
finished with 13 points and four rebounds For the Red Hawks (18-8),
who had their nine-game winning streak snapped with their second
loss to Kean this season. MSU dropped a 67-59 decision in Union on
January 24.
Kean also improved to 5-0 against the Red Hawks in NJAC
Tournament.
The Cougars exploded out of the gate to a 20-6 lead in the first
five minutes of play. Alysha Taylor
(Galloway, N.J.) drained a long jumper and Jackman
scored four straight points for a 6-0 lead. Danielle Brown
(North Brunswick, N.J.) connected for four straight points
and Patrick (pictured left) drove the lane twice as Kean led by 14
points.
The lead would swell to 36-10 with 7:21 left in the half as
Patrick connected from down low.
Jackman finished with 12 points while Patrick collected 10 and
five rebounds as Kean shot 19-of-39 from the field (48.7 percent)
while limiting Montclair to just 8-of-28 from the floor (29
percent).
In the second half, Montclair State would get the deficit
back under 20 points twice, the final time coming with 6:50
remaining as Berry converted a three-point play to make the score
60-41. But Taylor connected from behind the arc and
Angelica Bermudez (Belleville, N.J.) dropped in a
layup as the Cougars boosted the lead back to 65-41 with 5:48 left.
Senior guard Ebony Jackson (Newark, N,J.)
added 14 points and five assists as the Cougars dominated on the
boards outrebounding the Red Hawks 52-29, including 19 offensive
boards. Brown was the fourth player in double figures as she scored
11 points while pulling down nine rebounds.
Senior guard Marianne McGovern (Fair Lawn, N.J.) had 12
points and three rebounds for Montclair State, which shot 34
percent for the game (21-of-62). Junior forward Kisandra
Ayanbeku (Burlington, Mass.) had eight points, six rebounds
and five steals.
