MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The Haverford College women's basketball team was defeated by host Montclair State, 56-43, in a hard-fought battle on Tuesday night at the Panzer Athletic Center. Haverford opens the season at 0-1 while Montclair State, who is ranked as the No. 16 team in the nation by D3Hoops, now sits at 1-0. The Fords were paced by Macy Goldbach, who poured in 12 points and recorded a career-best seven rebounds to go with three steals and a perfect 5-for-5 night at the free-throw line.

Haverford was outscored 16-7 in the opening quarter, with freshman Maddie Gallic scoring her first career bucket in the first 10 minutes of action. Montclair State ran the advantage to 24-7 with a Kate Tobie three-pointer, but Sierra Berkel netted a layup to cut the advantage to 24-9. Taylor Harmon added a layup, making the score 29-9 in favor of the Redhawks but a Goldbach trey made it 29-12. Katie Cook hit a jumper at the first-half buzzer to send the Fords into the halftime break down 31-14.

The Fords went 5-for-16 from the field in the first half (31.3%) while Montclair State went 13-for-33 (39.4%). The Redhawks forced 14 Fords turnovers, which allowed the hosts to get out to the double-digit lead despite a close shooting half.

Haverford outscored the Redhawks 29-25 in the second half. A Goldbach layup with 6:41 left in the third quarter cut the advantage to 34-21 in favor of the hosts and Haverford later cut the lead to just 13, chipping away at a 20-point lead for the Redhawks with 2:33 left in the game.

A 7-0 run to end the game punctuated a hopeful half for the Fords. With 1:45 left in regulation, Goldbach headed to the line for a pair of free throws, hitting both. Goldbach then immediately stole the inbounds pass from the grasp of Tiara Dillard, made a layup, and was fouled by the Redhawk defense. Montclair State called for timeout, but Goldbach made the free-throw, completing a five-point play in just seven seconds, providing a spark that lit up the Haverford bench. 

The Fords excelled at the free-throw line all night going 14-for-16 (87.5%). Samantha Wetzel contributed three blocks and added eight points. Berkel and Cook each added eight points of their own. Freshman Megan Furch made an immediate impact with seven rebounds in her collegiate debut, joining Gallic and Unique Tuberville as first-year players seeing their first action. For Montclair State, Katie Sire impressed with 16 points and seven rebounds. Tobie and Sage Bennett added nine each points for the Redhawks.

Haverford will return to action on Saturday afternoon against DeSales as part of the Morgan Stanley Easton Tip-Off Tournament. The game is slated to begin at 2 p.m. in Center Valley, Pa.