Union, N.J. (11/23/21) – The Kean University women's basketball team scored almost half of their points in the fourth quarter to push past Montclair State University in the NJAC opener for both on Tuesday night by the final of 69-61.
Kean (3-4, 1-0 NJAC) scored 32 points in the final 10 minutes, including an almost perfect 20-of-21 from the charity stripe. The Cougars were led by Shannon McCoy with a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The game featured eight lead changes and one tie.
It was a very slow scoring first quarter as three and a half minutes passed before the game's first points. Sarah Olivero tallied a layup to erase the zero on the board. After the first 10 minutes, the Red Hawks (1-3, 0-1 NJAC) led by a slim 10-7 margin.
With three minutes to go before the break, Kean had a small 8-0 burst to take a 24-17 lead at the midway point.
MSU stormed out of halftime and their full court press stymied the Cougars to start the second half, turning the tables and giving the Red Hawks a double-digit lead near the end of the third quarter, 45-35.
Kean adjusted and chipped away and took the lead back with 5:43 to go on a fastbreak layup from Brittany Graff. The teams would see-saw over the next two minutes before KU took the lead for good with 2:48 on the clock with two points from McCoy from the charity stripe. The Cougars were able to hold on to the lead down the stretch with valuable points from the free throw line to seal the win.
Graff, Olivero and Kayla Anderson all scored in double figures for Kean (14, 13, 10). Rookie Macy Seaman added eight points, four blocks and four rebounds off the bench in 20 minutes of action.
For MSU, Megan Duffy led all players with 22 points. Trisha Peterson had a game-high 17 rebounds while four steals and seven points and Nickie Carter finished the night with 11 points and five steals.
Kean enjoys a short break and returns to action on Wednesday, December 1st when they host Rutgers-Newark at 6 p.m.
