WEST LONG BRANCH- Monmouth University's women's basketball team led Monday night's game wire-to-wire, defeating NEC rival Wagner 83-52 at Boylan Gym.
Monmouth held Wagner to 54 points, tying the lowest output the defense allowed all season while scoring 83 points, the Hawks third best scoring effort of the 2006 season. With the win, MU improves to 9-5 overall and 3-1 in the Northeast Conference.
After earning a 13-point lead going into halftime, the Blue & White started the second half off on a 8-2 run, expanding their lead to 42-23 with 15 minutes to play in regulation. The Hawks opened up a 21-point lead on a Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) three-point play (she was fouled on a successful layup, then hit the free throws) at the 11:39 mark of the second half. MU's Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) put her squad up by a 61-36 margin after hitting a spinning layup after being fouled, then converting the ensuing free throw.
Wagner's Jessie Colling scored her 23rd point of the game with a three pointer, but Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) answered with a trey of her own, preserving the comfortable MU lead, one they would never relinquish.
Monmouth cranked up the opening four minutes by commanding a 9-0 lead over the visiting Seahawks. It took Wagner until the 15:14 mark to get on the board with a layup which was followed up by a MU turnover and another Seahawk bucket. Monmouth's Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) hit an open jumper to give the Blue & White an 11-4 lead with just over 12 minutes left on the clock.
The Hawks held a 20-13 advantage at the seven minute mark but Wagner's Jessie Collins drained a wide-open three pointer to cut the Hawk lead to four. Brianne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield Academy) answered right back with a three of her own, which Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) followed up with a layup after a Seahawk turnover. With 3:38 left in the first half Randolph hit a triple on the left wing to give MU a 30-18 lead. The first half ended with Monmouth in firm command of the game, 34-21.
Wagner, who was led by Collins' 26 points, falls to 1-13 overall and 0-4 in conference play. Forward Takesha Dye led all players on the glass with nine rebounds.
Every player on the Monmouth roster saw action in the game, with Charise Johnson (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) leading the way with 15 points. Randolph had 12 points in 22 minutes of action while Bender, Edwards and Ware each had nine points in the game. Lindsay Zegowitz (Damascus, Md./Damascus) led Monmouth in rebounding with eight boards, while chipping in eight point.
Monmouth begins a four-game road trip on Sat., Jan. 13, when they face defending Northeast Conference champion Sacred Heart. The Pioneers and Hawks will tip-off at 2 p.m.
