WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- It took double overtime and a second half comeback but Monmouth University's women's basketball team won a 95-91 thriller at Boylan Gym over Mount Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks, who trailed by as much as 13 in the second half, had six players score in double digits to earn their second conference win of the season.  Monmouth last scored 90-plus points on Feb. 26, 2004 against Sacred Heart.

Mount took a two point advantage early in the second overtime, which MU tied on a pair of free throws.  After the Mountaineers regained the lead, Rachel Ferdinand (Califon, N.J./Voorhees) tied the game on a scooping layup which was followed by guard Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) hitting a three pointer to give MU a 90-87 lead with 2:53 remaining.  MSM's Brianna Gauthier cut the MU lead to one but Jimenez popped a jumper with 1:30 left to restore the three-point lead.  With the game tied, Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) hit two free throws to put the Hawks up by two.  With 12 seconds left, MU hit two free throws, clinching the 95-91 win.    

The first overtime began with the Hawks missing a three pointer, then Mount Saint Mary's grabbing two offensive boards but converting on none of its three chances.  Mount's Dita Krumberger was fouled on a made three pointer, then hit the free throw to give the visitors a 81-77 lead with 3:10 to go in the game.  After a Brianne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield Academy) jumper cut the lead to two, Jimenez tied the lead after a defensive stop.  With the game tied at 83-83, Jiminez sprinted down for what would have been an uncontested layup but Krumberger raked her down, drawing a foul.  Jimenez missed both attempts but the Hawks regained the ball with 25 ticks left in the game.  A missed shot by Randolph gave MSM a shot but Tiffany Green's three-pointer was blocked by Edwards sending the game into extra frames.

Trailing by nine to start the second half, the Hawks needed a big offensive swing to get back into it early.  MU attempted to close the gap but the three point shooting of Mountaineers opened up a 12 point lead early on.  The Hawks battled back, climbing to within 50-42 with on an Edwards' shot.  Edwards scored twice more on consecutive trips down the floor, slicing the lead to four and prompting a Mount St. Mary's timeout.  The Hawks rallied to tie the game at 50-50, scoring 13 unanswered points but back-to-back three pointers by MSM gave the visitors a six point lead.

The Hawks chopped away at Mount's lead, closing to within four at the 7:51 mark.  The teams traded points over the next two minutes but Randolph put the Hawks within one with an open three pointer.  Mount hit their 10^th three pointer of the game to give themselves a 73-68 lead before Jiminez hit a spinning layup to cut the lead to three.  With 2:55 to play in regulation, Jimenez fired up a three pointer to tie the game at 73-73.  After a defensive stop for the Hawks, sophomore Ferdinand was fouled, then converted both free throws to give the Hawks their first lead of the second half. 

In the final minutes, nursing a two-point lead lead, the Hawk defense put their earlier troubles aside and  stopped the MSM offense as Edwards grabbed a missed shot and drove the length of the court and earned two free throws.  Edwards was unable to convert from the line and Mount scored on the ensuing possession, tying the game at 77-77 with seconds left.  Neither team was able to score in the final 10 seconds, sending the game into overtime.

Randolph started things up for the Hawks with a three-pointer on the opening possession of the game.  Mount St. Mary's then launched a 7-0 run over the next four minutes before Lindsay Zegowitz (Damascus, Md./Damascus) dropped in a layup which was followed up by a Randolph jumper to tie the game.  The Hawks retook the lead at the 13:30 mark when Ware took a pass down low from Bender for an uncontested layup.  The lead didn't last long though, as MSM's Green.  With the Hawks trailing by one, the two teams went back and forth over the next five minutes before Marisa Jimenez hit her first three of the game to tie the game at 19-19.  The MU offense would have secured the lead late in the first half but its defense could not stop Mount's perimeter shooting as the visitors shot 55.6 percent from three point land to earn a 43-34 halftime margin.

Mount Saint Mary's, who falls to 3-10 overall and 1-2 in the NEC, was led by Krumberger, who led all scorers with 20 points while contributing eight rebounds.  The Mountaineers also got 19 points from Tiffany Green and had two other players score in double figures.

Monmouth, now 8-5 overall and 2-1 in the NEC, was led by Randolph who had 24 points and four assists.  Jimenez had a career-high 16 points, including three from beyond the arc.  Edwards finished with 14 points and a tied Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.J./Staten Island Tech) in rebounds with nine.  Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) also had 11 points in the game.  Zegowitz, the sixth player to score in double digits, chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Hawks will face Wagner on Monday, Jan. 8 at Boylan Gym.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.