CORAL GABLES, Fla. ? The Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated Fordham 65-59 on Saturday evening in the third place game at the University of Miami Thanksgiving Tournament at the Bank United Center.
Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) scored 13 points down the stretch in the second half as Monmouth outscored Fordham 39-31 after intermission to pace the win.
“It feels great to break through and get a win,” said Monmouth head coach Michele Baxter. “We needed this win and the team played hard tonight and seized the game when the opportunity presented itself.”
The Hawks were led for the second straight game by Randolph off the bench, as she scored a game high 18 points. Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) contributed 13 points, six rebounds and four assists for Monmouth, and Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) added eight points and eight rebounds.
Randolph tied the game for Monmouth after converting a three-point play at the 10:20 mark of the second half, and stole the ball on the ensuing defensive possession and connected on consecutive three-point field goals to give the Hawks a 51-45 lead with nine minutes left in the game. The Rams cut the MU lead to 53-52 following a Megan Mahoney three-pointer from the top of the key at the 7:50 mark of the second half. Randolph took over for the Hawks as she scored 13 straight Monmouth points after her third three-pointer of the second half, and teammate McElroy connected on a floater in the lane to boast the MU lead to 58-56 with three minutes left in the game. Montas gave the Hawks a 64-56 advantage with one minute left after consecutive hoops, a spinning bank shot and follow up lay up.
Monmouth took an early 7-6 lead at the 15:00 mark of the first half following a McElroy right corner three-point field goal off a cross court pass from Bender, who scored Monmouth's first bucket on a transition lay up two minutes into the game. The MU lead stretched to 12-8 following a Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) left wing three-point field goal at the 12:05 mark of the first half.
The Rams tied the game up at 14-14 at the 9:38 point of the first half after a three-pointer from freshman Raina Spencer at the top of the key. Fordham expanded their lead after an 8-0 run to 22-14, but Randolph halted it with a 15-foot jumper at the 3:50 mark of the first half.
Monmouth outscored Fordham 12-6 over the final 5:26 of the first half, keyed by four Bender points. The first half was punctuated when Monmouth's Kevaney Martin (Oil City, Pa./ Oil City) blocked Fordham's Spencer when she attempted a three-pointer from the top of the key at the opening half's buzzer to keep the score 28-26 in favor of the Rams. McElroy led the way for the Hawks in the opening half with seven points and four rebounds, as Bender added six points and three boards. MU shot 36.7 % in the first half, while the Rams shot 42.9 % in the opening half.
Monmouth went on a 6-2 scoring run the first two minutes of the second half to take a 32-30 lead behind a Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) pull up jump shot in transition. The Rams responded by going on a run of their own to take a 35-32 lead with 15:06 left in the game, led by a traditional three-point play by Spencer. They extended their lead to double figures before Monmouth turned up the defense and the tempo, as LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) scored four points during a MU run to cut the lead to 45-42 with 11:30 left in the second half.
MU shot 38.8 % for the game, compared to 41.8 % for the Rams. The Hawks outrebounded Fordham 43-35, including 16-6 on the offensive glass. MU also forced 19 Fordham turnovers and had eight steals, four from Randolph, who was Monmouth's representative on the all-tournament squad.
Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, November 28 when they host St. John's at 7:00 p.m. at Boylan Gym.
