WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth University's women's basketball team overcame a late second half deficit to come away with a 72-66 overtime victory over instate rival Fairleigh Dickinson at home on Monday night.
The Hawks, winners of five straight, were led by forward Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) who tied a career-high with 24 points and established a new career-high with 15 rebounds. Monmouth improves to 7-12 overall and evens its Northeast Conference record at 4-4 with the win. FDU drops to 8-12 overall and 4-5 in conference play.
“I thought we came out a little sluggish and took some breaks in the second half,” said MU head coach Michele Baxter. “Once again our defense prevailed, to propel us to a victory. We need to continue to get easy looks and be more aggressive with the ball.”
FDU took a two point lead early in overtime to earn a 61-59 lead on the first possession but Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) nailed a three pointer to give the Hawks a one point lead. Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) fired one from long range after the Hawk defense came away with another stop and Monmouth led 65-61 with 2:00 showing on the board. The Knights would not go away without a fight, converting a traditional three point play to get to within a bucket. Senior Brianne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield) hit four straight free throws to close out the scoring as Monmouth clinched the 72-66 victory.
Back by three to start the final regulation frame, Monmouth was able to get to within one but FDU tallied five consecutive points to give themselves a bit of a cushion. A pair of Bender layups cut the lead to 35-33 as the Hawks continued to turn up the defensive intensity. After a forced turnover, Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) earned a pair of foul shots after being hacked on a drive, sinking both to knot the game with 15:30 left. After yet another defensive stop, McElroy hit a three pointer from the wing to give the Hawks their first lead since early in the first half. Jennifer Walkling converted a three point play on the next Knight possession to regain the lead for the visitors.
A series of Knight offensive miscues allowed the Hawks to retake the lead but FDU's Jasmyra Saunders nailed a traditional three point play to give her squad a 42-41 advantage with 10:48 to play in regulation. The two teams went back and forth over the next minutes before Fairleigh Dickinson's Shanay Freeman hit back-to-back three pointers and the Hawks found themselves trailing 51-43 with just under eight minutes to play. Saunders added two more buckets and FDU's lead stood at 55-45 with six minutes left in regulation.
After two free throws from Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth), the Hawks were down just five. McElroy hit two from the charity stripe to close the gap to three after a Knight turnover and Ware jumper with under three to go put Monmouth within one. A third consecutive turnover by FDU was followed up by two Bender free throws and MU was ahead 57-56 with 2:03 left in the game. FDU regained the lead with a pair of Saunders free throws and the Hawks were unable to get points out of their next possession, forcing the Blue & White to foul with 22 seconds remaining. Walkling hit one to give the Knights a two point lead then sent Brianne Edwards to the line with a pair of free throws. The senior nailed both and the game was tied with 14 seconds to play when the MU defense stepped up once again forcing overtime.
Monmouth took an early 6-2 lead, with Ware hitting two of the Hawks shots before FDU's Megan Kirkland cut the lead to one with a three. Minutes later Walkling gave the Knights their first lead of the game on a jumper at the 13:33 mark of the first half. Edwards regained the lead for the Blue & White with a three pointer from the baseline. The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes before FDU hit back to back shots to open up a 15-9 lead with under nine minutes to play. After falling behind by nine, Ware hit a three to put the Hawk down by six. LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) and Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) then accounted for the next six points and with 6:27 to play, Monmouth trailed by one (19-18). The Knights built a six point lead but Monmouth closed out the first half with a 5-0 run to get the deficit to 29-26 at the break.
Monmouth's defense forced 21 turnovers in the game as the Hawks outrebounded the Knights to the tune of 49-43. MU also earned 11 steals with Montas and Edwards leading the way with three each.
Bender led all scorers with a career-high tying 24 points while also grabbing a career-best 15 boards. Ware finished with 14 points, including nine in the final 25 minutes of play. Montas added eight rebounds and five points in the win. Edwards finished with nine points, including a perfect six-for-six effort from the charity stripe.
Walkling had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Knights, while Saunders chipped in 20 points in the loss.
Monmouth is now tied with FDU, 1-1, in the Garden State Rivalry, which is played between both the men's and women's basketball teams.
Monmouth will look for its sixth straight victory on Saturday, February 2, when they travel to play Long Island for a 2 p.m. tilt.
