WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- The Monmouth University women's basketball team's defense held Rider to just two overtime points as the Hawks won their second game of the season in a 50-48 extra time affair Monday night in Boylan Gym. MU improved to 2-1 on the season with the win, while Rider fell to 2-2. Rider's 48 points was the lowest amount a Monmouth defense has allowed ever in an overtime game and the fewest given up since holding St. Francis (Pa.) to 47 points in a 2007 victory.
“I think our defense dictated the outcome of this game,” said head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. “I think the team is starting to understand how important the details are. You don't win overtime games without paying attention to details.”
Senior Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) led all scorers with 18 points and five rebounds. She was one of three Hawks with double digit scoring as senior LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) tallied 11 and freshman Alexis Scott (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) dropped a career-high 10 points and six rebounds. Monmouth's defense forced 21 turnovers and held Rider to 35 percent shooting. The win marked the second overtime win of the year and the first home win for MU this season.
“We kept our composure and were more under control during overtime, which helped us get the win”, said senior Jennifer Bender.
With her team trailing for the entire second half, Rider guard Alyssa Parsons hit a three pointer with 2:21 left in the game to give her squad a 46-45 lead. Barber tied the game up for MU with a free throw before the Hawks had a last second chance to win, but the ball did not find paydirt, sending the contest into overtime.
Bender, the overtime hero in MU's win over Saint Peter's earlier this season, scored the extra period's first points on two successful free throws. Rider's Stephanie Wisniewski tied the game up on a layup but Bender answered by converting a layup and drawing a foul call. Bender missed the free throw but Monmouth still held a 50-48 lead with 2:30 to play. Monmouth's defense, which had been solid all night, forced back-to-back Bronc turnovers but the Hawks were unable to get a shot off before the thirty second clock expired. With 59 seconds left, Rider called a timeout to set up what would be their final offensive opportunity. After two misses that led to Rider offensive rebounds, Wisniewski was fouled under the basket but couldn't convert on the ensuing free throw attempts. MU's offense fell victim to the shot clock for the second straight possession, giving Rider one last shot with 8.9 left. Rider used all of their time trying to set up a shot but Tammy Meyer's shot was not on target and the Hawks won for the second time in three games.
Monmouth expanded its three point halftime lead to five before Shaunice Parker hit a three pointer to cut the MU lead to 30-28 with 12:30 to play in regulation. The two teams combined for 11 total points in the first nine minutes of play as the two defenses continued to dominate the game. Scott scored her 10th point of the game to give Monmouth a six-point cushion but Bronc guard Amanda Sepulveda answered right back with a three pointer.
Rider clawed to within one with 7:07 showing on the clock on a Parker layup but MU senior Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) hit a jump shot to put the Hawks ahead 42-39 with just over four minutes to play. The Broncs hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 43-43 before Montas regained the lead for the Blue & White with a perfect trip to the charity stripe on the next MU possession. With 2:30 left in the game, Parsons hit a three ball from the right wing to give the Broncs their first lead since the 3:16 mark of the first half.
After falling behind by as much as seven midway through the first half, MU rallied close out the final nine minutes of the opening half on a 12-2 run to take a 26-23 lead into halftime.
The Hawks took an early lead on a Bender layup then fell behind by a score of 6-4 in the early parts of the first half. A Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) free throw gave retook the lead for MU but Rider's Cindy Myers drove to the hoop and hit a shot off the glass to give her squad a one point lead. On the next MU possession, freshman Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) hit a three pointer from the wing and the Hawks once again led, this time 10-8 with six minutes off the clock. Rider responded with a 13-4 run and held a 21-14 advantage with 9:13 showing on the clock. During that run, Sepulveda accounted for five of her nine-first half points.
Monmouth's Scott hit a pair of jumpers to get the Hawks within three before Barber hit a 18 footer to close the gap to 21-20 with 3:45 to play. MU's solid defense forced an unsuccessful Bronc offensive possession for the eighth consecutive trip which led to Monmouth taking the lead on a Bender layup with just under three left in the half. Rider's scoring drought lasted a span of 9:17, almost the remainder of the first half, which ended with Monmouth earning a 26-23 advantage.
Meyers and Sepulveda led the Broncs with 12 points, while Parker chipped in 11. Danielle Constantino led all players on the glass with 10.
The Hawks are back in action on Nov. 28, when they face UTEP in El Paso. The game is set for 7 p.m.
