WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team fell to host UNC Wilmington, 63-49 in the First Round of the 2009 Hampton Inn Invitational at Trask Coliseum on Saturday. The Hawks will now face Davidson, who fell to Duquesne 74-71 in overtime in the tournament's first game, at 1:00 pm on Saturday in the consolation game.
MU was paced by freshman Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara), who tied a career-high with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Fellow newcomer Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z./Marian College) added exactly 10 points for the fourth straight contest, while freshman Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) added eight points and nine rebounds.
The Monmouth freshman (Womack, Rooney, Martin, Carly Thibault, Adriana Allen and Gabby Singer) accounted for 44 of the squad's 49 points against the Seahawks.
Womack scored Monmouth's first hoop and assisted on the Hawks next two baskets as MU took an early 6-4 lead with 14:32 left in the first half. Freshman Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) ended a 6-0 UNCW run with a three-pointer from the left wing to cut the Seahawks lead to 10-9 with 10:51 left before halftime. The host's second 6-0 scoring run of the first half, punctuated by consecutive baskets from Martha White, gave UNCW a 16-9 lead with just less than nine minutes to go before intermission.
The Seahawks stretched their lead to 30-15 at halftime after a first half buzzer-beating put back from Jessica Cohen. Monmouth shot 33.3% (7-for-21) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, while UNC Wilmington connected on 48.3% (14-of29) from the floor. The Hawks outrebounded their fellow winged competition 17-13, but committed 16 turnovers, compared to five for the Seahawks. UNCW turned MU's 16 turnovers into 17 points, and also outscored the Hawks 20-8 in the paint.
Womack and Rooney each led Monmouth with four first half points, while the Seahawks were paced by Brttany Blackwell's 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
The Hawks went on a 9-0 scoring run of their own to cut UNCW's lead to 41-30, capped by a right corner three from freshman Adriana Allen (Ajx, Ont./Pickering) with just less than 11 minutes to go in the contest. The Seahawks increased their advantage to 47-32 after a long two-pointer from Greta Luksyte with 7:40 left in the game.
Thibault added six points, hitting 2-of-3 three-pointers, marking the fourth straight game she has hit two three's in a contest in her first season in a Monmouth uniform. Sophomore Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) added five points and three steals, Singer contributed three points and six boards and Allen added three points and two assists.
MU shot 39.6% (19-for-48) for the game, while UNCW hit 43.9% (25-fot-57) and outrebounded the Hawks 36-30. The Seahawks outscored Monmouth in the paint 40-20, and they converted MU's 24 turnovers into 25 points.
UNC Wilmington was led by Blackwell's game-highs of 20 points and 10 boards, while Martha White added 12 points.
The Hawks, who started four freshmen (Allen, Martin, Rooney, Womack) and a sophomore (Canady) for the fourth straight contest this year, fall to 1-3 on the season. Monmouth returns to action tomorrow when they face Davidson in the consolation game of the 2009 Hampton Inn Invitational at 1:00 pm.
