Montclair, N.J. (2/25/14) – Senior Simone Smith led the Cougars with 16 points as they Kean University women's basketball team fell to top seeded Montclair State University by the final of 76-62 on Tuesday evening.

Melissa Tobie scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Nicosia Henry added a double-double of her own with 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven steals helping MSU (24-2) to its second straight conference title game and fifth overall. Montclair State, ranked in the Top 10 by both D3Hoops.com and USA Today Division III Poll, will host local rival William Paterson on Friday, February 28 at 7 p.m.

Kean will be among the teams in consideration for a berth in the ECAC Tournament which begins next week. Selections for the ECAC will be announced on Monday, March 3.

Montclair State topped the Cougars for the second time in 10 days and earned its first NJAC Tournament win over Kean after seven previous attempts. However it was a hot-shooting Kean team that used an 11-1 run early in the first half to take a 16-7 lead on Jazmine Davis' layup. The Cougars connected on 11 of their first 15 shots in the game.

MSU cut that lead back to 20-17 five minutes later but consecutive three-pointers by Jaquetta Owens and Aysha Harris along with a layup by Smith with 9:29 to go gave Kean a 28-17 advantage.

The Red Hawks countered with a 23-5 run that closed out the first half for a seven-point lead at the break. Tobie scored eight of her 12 first-half points in the run, including back-to-back three pointers that would give Montclair State the lead for good. Henry and Smith traded the final baskets of the period as MSU led 40-33.

In the second half, a Davis layup brought Kean within 42-36 but layups by Tobie and Sarah Kluth along with two free throws by Henry boosted the lead back to 49-38 with 15:36 left. AnnaRose Pierre scored to bring the lead back under double digits before Kayla Ceballos, who finished with 13 points off the bench, drained a three from the top of the key to make the score 52-40.

Kean continued to battle and pulled within 61-53 with 6:20 left as Davis scored on a layup. But Ceballos came up big again with a three-pointer, restoring the lead back to 11 and the Cougars got no closer the rest of the way.

Davis finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars which got 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals from Owens.