BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. ? The Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated St. Francis (N.Y.) 82-75 in a double overtime marathon in Northeast Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Pope Center.
"We battled all afternoon and came through, even though we were shorthanded," said head coach Michele Baxter. "Our team persevered and came out of a tough environment with a gutty win."
After one overtime wasn't enough to decide the contest, the second extra session began with MU falling behind 68-65, but Brianne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield) connected on a mid-range jumper and LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gywnn Park) knocked down two free throws to give Monmouth a 69-68 lead. After St. Francis (N.Y.) held a brief lead at 70-68, Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) hit a left corner three-point field goal with 1:45 left to give the Hawks a 72-70 lead. Edwards then hit eight straight free throws around and under the one minute mark to make the lead 80-74 and ice the game.
In the first overtime period, Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) began the scoring when she gathered a loose ball and connected on a 15-foot jumper to give the Hawks a 61-59 lead with four minutes left. Edwards then drilled a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 65-60 lead at the 2:50 mark of the overtime period. Linda Warrington of St. Francis (N.Y.) knocked down a three to cut the lead to 65-63, but after a Hawks miss, McElroy came up with a steal. After Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) missed the front end of a one-and-one, Tiffany Hill hit a lay up off an inbounds pass with one second left to force double overtime.
McElroy canned a three-point field goal from the right corner with two minutes left in the game as the shot clock wound down to give the Hawks a 59-56 lead. Katja Bavendam then tied the game up at 59-59 for St. Francis (N.Y.) with a lay in at the one minute mark. With the score tied late, Edwards blocked a Linda Warrington potential game-winning three-pointer to force overtime, the first extra-session game the Hawks have played this season.
Junior Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) scored Monmouth's first two baskets on consecutive trips down the floor, but St. Francis (N.Y.) held a 9-6 lead at the 14:15 of the first half behind five early points from senior guard Tiffany Hill. McElroy entered the game and promptly drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key, and Barber converted a traditional three-point play to give MU a 12-9 lead less than two minutes later.
McElroy connected on another three-point field goal, this one from the left wing, to boost the MU lead to 17-11 at the 9:45 mark of the first half. The Terriers battled back to knot the contest at 17-17, but consecutive Montas traditional three-point plays gave the Hawks a 23-20 lead with 6:31 left in the first half. The hosts then went on a run of their own to take a 27-23 lead with 4:39 showing in the first half, fueled by two three-pointers from Linda Warrington.
Monmouth regained the lead at 28-27 following a Bender offensive rebound and putback at the 2:45 mark of the first half. The Terriers went into halftime with a 35-32 lead, led by 16 points from Hill. St. Francis (N.Y.) hit six three-pointers in the first half, four by Hill. Montas led MU at the break with eight points. The Hawks shot 44.8 % in the first half, but committed 16 turnovers before intermission.
Warrington knocked down a pair of three-pointers for the Terrier out of the halftime break, but MU clawed back to within four at 43-39 after a Montas lay up and jumper with fourteen minutes left in the game. McElroy buried a long two-pointer to cut the St. Francis (N.Y.) lead a deuce at 43-41 on the following possession.
St. Francis (N.Y.) pushed their lead to 51-46 after another Warrington three, her fifth of the afternoon, with eight minutes left in the game. Edwards led the Hawks back with a game-tying three-pointer from the left corner, knotting the contest at 51-51 with six minutes left. A pair of free throws for the Terriers gave the hosts a 53-51 two-point lead with 4:56 remaining. Edwards knocked down a right wing three-pointer to square the game at 55-55 with four minutes left, and a Bender free throw gave MU a 56-55 lead less than a minute later.
The Hawks played a double overtime NEC game last season as well, topping Mount St. Mary's 95-91 on January 6, 2007.
The Hawks were led by Edwards, who scored a career-high 23 points in a season-high 37 minutes. Montas added 12, while Barber and Bender each scored 10 points. Barber also added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. MU forced 28 turnovers in the game, and held the Terriers to 38.5 % shooting from the floor.
Hill led the way with 23 points for St. Francis (N.Y.), while Warrington added 22.
The Hawks, who improve to 4-12 and 2-4 in the league, return to action on Monday, January 21st when they host Central Connecticut State at 7:00 p.m. at Boylan Gym.
