After its offense sputtered in the early part of the game, the Monmouth University women's basketball team put on an impressive display on both ends of the floor to down in-state rival Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-47 on Wednesday night in Boylan Gym.
Monmouth rebounded from its tough loss against CCSU on Monday by outscoring the Knights 34-22 in the second half. MU shot 50 % from the floor for the game to improve to 17-10 overall and 10-6 in Northeast Conference play. The Knights fell to 9-17 overall and 6-10 in the conference. The Hawks were 20-of-21 from the charity stripe in the game while holding a 49-26 advantage on the boards.
It took four minutes for Monmouth's halftime lead to grow to 21 points, with sophomore guard Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) hitting a three-pointer which she followed up with a jumper from the corner. Over the next five minutes the Knights were able to gain a little ground on the MU lead but the Hawks still held a 52-35 lead with just over half the frame left. With 7:29 left in the game Lindsey Zegowitz (Damascus, Md./Damascus) hit a baseline jumper to give the Hawks a 20 point cushion. MU clinched the win with solid shooting the rest of the way to eventually
Monmouth's defense came to play in opening minutes of the first half, holding the Knights to six points in almost seven minutes of action. Neither offense could get on track as the teams struggled to score, but the Hawks held a 13-10 advantage with 11:18 left in the first half. FDU cut the lead to one before Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) hit a jumper with the shot clock winding down to give MU a 17-14 lead. Just over a minute later Randolph hit a three pointer and the Hawk lead ballooned to eight with 7:04 left in the half. Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) converted a traditional three point play on the next MU possession to put the Hawks ahead 25-14, completing a 10-0 run. The Hawks closed out the first half by outscoring FDU 10-6 in the final five minutes, giving the home team a 39-25 lead going into the break.
Monmouth had three players score in double digits, led by Jimenez, who tallied 19. LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double while Brianne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield Academy) had 10 points in the game.
Shanay Freeman finished with 15 points, including a perfect 7-of-7 effort from the line. Jordan Sykes was the second leading scorer for the Knights with 11 points in 34 minutes.
Monmouth will be back in action on Friday when they host Sacred Heart on Senior Night. The game will be televised on Fox Sports NY and is set for a 5 p.m. tip.
