FAIRFIELD, Conn. ? The Monmouth University women's basketball team came all the way back from down 16 points in the first half to take a 42-33 lead with just over five minutes left before falling to Sacred Heart 50-46 in the semifinal round of the Northeast Conference Tournament Tuesday night at the William H. Pitt Center.
The Hawks outscored SHU 31-21 in the second half, including going on a 29-8 run to end the first half and continued for the first 14 minutes of the second half. MU held Sacred Heart to two second-half field goals, but the Pioneers hit 16-of-24 free throws after intermission to advance to the finals of the conference tournament for the second straight year.
“We played a lot harder in the second half, but Sacred Heart is a good team and they got some breaks in the second half and made their free throws,” said head coach Michele Baxter. “Our team is young, and we will be back next season.”
The Hawks outscored Sacred Heart 19-3 coming out of halftime to take a 33-32 lead at the 9:31 mark of the game on three point-field goals by Randolph and Edwards. That duo each scored seven points on the run to give MU their first lead since the 19:24 mark of the first half. Also on the run, Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) converted a steal and lay-up, and MU turned up their pressure defense to force three consecutive Pioneers turnovers that MU turned points each time.
Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) hit a left-wing three-point field and Edwards converted a traditional three-point play to give the Hawks their largest advantage of the game at that point at 39-33 with eight minutes left. Jimenez then hit another three-point field to give the Hawks a 42-33 lead with just over five minutes left in the game.
MU held Sacred Heart nearly 18 minutes without a field goal dating back to the first half until Jasmine Walker hit a left-handed turnaround to draw the Pioneers within one at 42-41 with three minutes remaining in the game. Pape then hit a free-throw after Randolph fouled her intentionally to tie the game at 42-42.
Sacred Heart regained the lead 45-42 after Lisa Moray hit a right-wing three-point field goal with two minutes left. Walker then hit one free throw and Pape calmy sunk two before Edwards drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to draw MU within two at 48-46 with 10 seconds left in the game.
Jimenez then fouled Pape, who hit two more free throws to give the Pioneers a 50-46 lead with 8.2 seconds showing on the clock.
MU was whistled for 22 fouls in the game, while Sacred Heart was called for 11.
The Pioneers took an early 8-4 lead as both teams struggled to get anything going offensively at the onset of the game. Kaitlin Sowinski scored a pair of early buckets for Sacred Heart, the second at the 15:50 mark of the first half to give them the early four-point advantage. SHU maintained their four-point advantage at 12-8 with 9:34 left in the opening period as Sowinski scored four more quick points for the Pioneers. Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) answered with four points of her own for MU off the bench around the midway point of the first half.
Randolph drilled a three-pointer for MU at the 8:47 mark, but Sacred Heart responded with an 8-0 run to push their lead to 22-11 before Rachel Ferdinand (Califon, N.J./Voorhees) ended the scoring spree with a jump shot at the 4:25 mark of the first half.
Edwards hit a runner in the lane at the buzzer for MU, but Sacred Heart took a 29-15 halftime lead into the locker room. SHU's Amanda Pape, the 2005-2006 NEC Player of the Year, scored 16 points in the first half to lead all scorers. The 15 points Monmouth scored is their lowest first half point total all season, and only the fourth time all year they have failed to score at least 20 points in a half.
Brianne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield) led MU with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) added 10 points and six rebounds.
Monmouth concludes the 2006-2007 season with an 18-13 record and loses only one player, Charisse Johnson (East Stroudsburg, Pa,/Stroudsburg), to graduation.
“I'm sad that this is my last game in a Monmouth uniform,” said Johnson. "I wish them the best for next year, and will I miss them and love this team very much.”
