WESTON, Mass. – For the second-straight year, Regis College will take on No. 8 Montclair State University in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament starting on Friday, March 7. The Pride and Red Hawks will meet at 7:00 p.m. The winner will advance to take on either Cabrini or Moravian, who will also be playing at the host Montclair State.
The two teams met in the First Round last season, with the Red Hawks posting an 87-47 victory over the Pride, before MSU moved on to the NCAA Division III Sectional Tournament.
In 2014, Regis posted its third-straight season of 20 or more wins as the Pride went 23-4, including the Pride's second-straight NECC Championship. The Crimson and Gold outscored opponents by nearly 23 points per game during conference play this season, while also holding a nearly 15 point advantage overall in the 27 games played so far this season.
The Pride enters the NCAA Tournament riding a 17 game winning-streak with their last loss at home against #6 Tufts on January 4.
Regis has been led by junior co-captain, and All-NECC First Team selection, Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.). Marro currently leads the Pride in scoring at 15.9 points per game and assists at 2.5 assists per game and is third on the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg), while tying for the team-lead in steals per game at 2.0.
The Pride have three other players averaging double-digits in scoring as the other co-captain Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) is averaging 12.6 points per game, freshman Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) is at 11.7 points per game, and senior Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine) is at 11.0 points per game. Hawkesworth also leads the team in rebounding at 8.8 boards per game, while Ramonas finished second in the NECC with a 53.1 field goal percentage.
No. 8 Montclair State University enters the tournament at 25-2 overall and have won 11-straight games including a 67-64 win over William Paterson in the NJAC Tournament this past weekend. The Red Hawks only two losses of the season came on December 11 at Vassar and at Kean Unviersity on January 18, both five point losses for MSU.
Melissa Tobie (Elizabeth, N.J.) led the Red Hawks in scoring this season at 18.4 points per game, while Janitza Aquino (Kearny, N.J.) and Nicosia Henry (Bolingbrook, Ill.) are also averaging double-digits in scoring at 15.9 points and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Henry leads MSU in rebounding at 8.9 boards per game, while Tobie is right behind her at 8.7 rebounds per game, and leads the Red Hawks with 4.0 assists per game. Tobie was named the NJAC Player of the Year, while Henry was the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.
In last year's meeting between the two teams, Claire Ramonas scored 17 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Pride. All five starters for Montclair State scored in double-digits, led by 17 points from Melissa Tobie, and a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds from Nicosia Henry.
To view the entire NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament bracket, please click here.