FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

11/17/2006

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. The Monmouth University women's basketball team improved to 1-1 Friday night with a 82-70 win over in-state rival Rider in Boylan Gym.

Rider trailed for the entire game, except for a few times early in the first half when they were able to tie. The Hawks had five players score in double digits, prompting their first win of the 2006-07 season.

"I thought we played much harder this game," said MU head coach Michele Baxter. "I wish we could play consistently for the entire 40 minutes. When we did gather our composure we picked up our defense and that contributed to the win. We need to cut back on our turnovers, which I thought we did a good job of in the first half."

Up by 14 to start the second half, MU sputtered out of the gate as the Broncs went on a 14-6 run to close to within six points at the 14:43 mark. Rider cut the lead to 49-45, but Monmouth answered with a 10-4 run to take a 10 point lead with 8:46 to play in regulation. The Hawks opened up a 16 point victory at one point as their defense would not let Rider attempt a comeback.

The Hawks shot out to an 8-2 lead in the opening three minutes of the game on a Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) layup but the Broncs battled back, scoring six consecutive points to tie the game with 14:56 left in the first half. The Blue & White went on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 10 point lead at the halfway point. Monmouth opened up a 13 point lead on a Brianne Edwards three ball, which expanded to 16 points when Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) converted a three point play after a Rider foul. Rider was able to cut the lead to eight points with 2:46 remaining but MU closed the first half out on a 6-0 run to take a 40-26 lead into the locker room. The Hawks shot 65 percent in the first half, with Bender leading MU with 12 points on six-of-eight shooting.

Janele Henderson led the Broncs with 15 points, while Stephanie Wisniewski had 13 points for the visitors. Rider's Shaunice Parker had six rebounds and nine points for Rider.

Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) led Monmouth with 16 points while adding in two boards. Lakia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) had 14 points and seven rebounds in the game. Randolph led MU with nine rebounds, while chipping in nine points in the win. Edwards finished with five points and five assists. The Hawks held a 37-22 advantage on the glass, while MU's bench players contributed 39 points in the game.

The Hawks are now 17-8 all-time against Rider, who falls to 0-2 on the season. The last time the Blue & White scored 82 or more points in a game was on Feb. 26, 2004, when they lost 99-94 to

Sacred Heart in double overtime. Monmouth shot 52.6 percent from the floor during the game and was 21-25 from the charity stripe.

Monmouth is back at home for its third straight home game when they host another New Jersey rival, Saint Peter's on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.