WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth's women's basketball team got its first win of the season on Sunday, defeating Pacific in front of a home crowd, 64-53.
The Hawks, who led by as much as 26 in the game, improved to 1-2 on the season, while Pacific falls to 1-3 on the year. Monmouth was led by forward Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) who had career-highs in points and rebounds, while securing her second career double-double.
"I am really proud of the kids for finishing off the game," said head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. "We challenged them with being strong in the second half and were able to overcome Pacific's run, showing a lot of poise."
Like they had in the previous two games this season, Monmouth came out of the halftime break with the lead, however it was the first time all year MU had a double digit cushion. Pacific, trying to overcome a dismal 18 % first half shooting percentage that left them with a 21 point deficit, was met with a relentless MU defense that was aggressive on the glass while forcing turnovers.
Pacific's Kendall Rodriguez and Gretchen Tiernan hit three consecutive shots from beyond the arc but Monmouth still held a 53-34 lead with 9:49 to play in the game. MU's offense hit a bit of a scoring drought as Pacific went to an early press hoping to force turnovers in an attempt to climb back into the game. Rodriguez netted four straight points for the Tigers on layups and the MU lead sat at 15 with 7:00 remaining in regulation. Monmouth's offense got back on track down the stretch as the Hawks cruised to an 11 point victory.
The Hawks started off fast for the first time at home this season, building a 8-2 lead early on. Monmouth continued Gaitley's trademark stingy defense, forcing three turnovers and grabbing seven defensive boards to take a 14-4 lead at the halfway point of the first frame. Alysha Womack's (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) three pointer at the 9:30 mark was the freshman's seventh point of the contest and gave the Hawks a 17-4 advantage.
The tigers used a number of free throws to get back into the game, closing to within eight before Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) drained back to back three pointers to expand the MU lead to 24-10 with 4:59 to play in the half. Freshman Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) knocked down two more trey's in the final minutes as the Hawks opened up a 20-point lead going into halftime.
Martin finished with a career-high 12 points and 16 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive glass, for her second career double-double. Womack added 13 points, while freshman guard Erin Rooney (Christchurch, New Zealand/Marian College) had 10. MU shot 46% from the floor in the game
Rodriguez led all scorers with 21 points, chipping in eight rebounds in the loss. Pacific held a 39-37 edge in rebounding but shot just 33.9 percent in the game.
The Hawks will look to even their record on Friday, Nov. 27 when they face UNC Wilmington at 6 p.m.
