WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team won its third straight Northeast Conference game, defeating Central Connecticut State 68-53 on Monday evening at Boylan Gym. The Hawks, who improve to 5-12 and 3-4 in the league with the win, placed four players in double digits in the win.
“I thought tonight we played with more confidence tonight,” said head coach Michele Baxter. “The big win on the road (against St. Francis [N.Y.]) helped us. This was a must-win game for us because we only play them once. Our defense gave us easy shots in transition, and we are getting more layups and high percentage shots out of our defense.”
Junior guard Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) opened up the second half scoring with a three-pointer from the wing to extend the Hawks 10-point halftime lead. CCSU's Kanita Boone nailed a three to cut the margin to 38-25 with just over four minutes expired, which Jhanay Harris followed up with a jumper to get the Blue Devils to within 11. Emily Rose's three pointer slice the lead to single digits as Monmouth was in the midst of a four minute scoring draught. Monmouth forward Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) clipped the run with a layup but the Blue Devils quickly answered with two points of their own.
Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) scored the next seven points of the game and MU was in command with a 47-32 advantage and 11:56 to play in regulation. The Hawks outscored the Blue Devils 12-8 over the next seven minutes to build a 59-40 lead with 4:57 showing on the clock. MU rode out the final minutes, clinching the 68-53 victory.
Central took an early lead on a Rose three ball but the lead was erased on a Bender fast break layup. After the Blue Devils built a 8-4 lead, Bender netted her second layup and Montas hit a free throw to keep MU back just one with 13 minutes to play in the first half. The Hawks took their first of the game at the 10:46 mark when Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) hit a jumper from six feet out giving Monmouth a slight 11-10 lead. Another Randolph bucket found the Hawks up by three but Rose tied the game up at 13-13 with a shot from the wing.
The two teams traded buckets for the next minute before Bender converted a traditional three point play and Randolph scored a layup for her sixth point of the night and Monmouth's lead expanded to 20-15 with just under seven minutes to play. Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night after hitting a pair of free throws, pushing the home advantage to 25-18. The Hawks closed out the half on a 5-0 run to take a 30-20 lead into the break.
Four Hawks scored in double digits led by Bender's 18 points. The junior also had 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. McElroy earned her first career double-double, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Montas' 16 points was a career high for the junior while Randolph finished with 11 points.
Rose led the Blue Devils in scoring with 17 points while freshman Kerrianne Dugan had eight points and 11 rebounds. P.J. Wade also chipped in eight and 11 in the loss for the now 3-16 CCSU Blue Devils (2-6 NEC).
Monmouth dominated on the glass, finishing with a 55-36 advantage.
Monmouth returns home on Thursday when NJIT comes to Boylan Gym for a 7 p.m. game.
