UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Jill Valley scored 23 points for Westfield State, but the Owls ran out of gas late as they fell to Montclair State (NJ) University, 81-73 in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament at the Panzer Athletic Center on the Montclair State University campus.
The Owls jumped out to quick start, scoring on a inbounds layup by Valley and a three-pointer by freshman Chelsea Moussette to grab a 5-0 lead in the opening minute and a half of play.
Westfield, the highest scoring team in the nation, had the game at the tempo they wanted early, leading 26-24 after one quarter, behind 14 points from Valley, who repeatedly burned the Red Hawks down the floor for layups.
Westfield State’s Jill Valley drives to the hoop in the first half against Montclair State on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
In the second quarter, the Owls got more balanced scoring, pushing the lead up to 38-30 with a Shay Robinson layup with 2:08 to play in the 2nd quarter, but Montclair responded with a 9-0 run, led by back to back threes from Rachel Krauss to close the half and took a 39-38 lead into the intermission.
The Red Hawks continued the momentum out of the half, starting the frame with an 8-2 run that extended the lead to 47-40.
Westfield chipped the lead back down to 3 points, 47-44 with a layup from Lauren Carnevale with 5:35 to play in the third quarter.
Once again Montclair responded, this time with a 9-0 run, fueled by big back-to-back three from Rachel Krauss and Katie Sire.
Westfield took two more runs at the Red Hawks, cutting the lead to seven, 61-54 with 9:10 left in the game on a Rebecca Sapouckey layup, but Montclair responded with back to back buckets from Sire to stretch it back to 11.
The Owls closed the lead to six, 65-59 on a Lucy Barrett three-pointer with 6:43 left in the game, and again on a pair of free throws by Valley with 5:37 to play, but Westfield could not get closer than six the rest of the way.
Valley finished with 23 points on 8-17 shooting, 4-6 from three point range and 3-4 at the line. Sapouckey finished with 15, including 11 in the second half, and seven rebounds. Kierra McCarthy added nine and Janaiya Sanchez eight for the Owls, who end their season at 19-9.
Montclair State (26-2) was paced by 23 points from Sire, included 16 in the second half. Krauss had the hot hand from three-point range, connecting on 7-10 three pointed en route to 21 points, and Zoe Curtis added 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Westfield was outrebounded 54-45, but the Owls did grab 19 offensive rebounds. The Owls went cold from three-point range in the second and third quarter, connecting on just 2 of 13 tries from behind the arc in that stretch.
Montclair advances to play UMass Dartmouth, a 71-64 winner over LaRoche (Pa.) College in the other first round game here tonight, on Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m. at the Panzer Athletic Center for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Westfield State was making their fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament and its second straight appearance. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
