WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated Davidson, 46-43 in the consolation game of the 2009 Hampton Inn Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Trask Coliseum on the campus of UNC Wilmington.
Trailing Davidson by a point, 43-42, with 23 seconds left, Monmouth freshman Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) swished a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Hawks a two-point advantage they wouldn't relinquish. After an offensive foul by the Wildcats, Singer then hit one of two free throws and Davidson's Alex Thompson missed a desperation three attempt at the buzzer.
"This was a huge step forward for our young basketball team," said Monmouth head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. "To come back the way we did and beat a good basketball team is big for us. When you play defense the way we did in the second half, you're going to have a chance to win games. This was a statement to our kids that playing defense puts us in a position to steal games when we don't shoot well."
MU's defense limited Davidson to 15 second half points, it's best defensive half of the season, on 28.6% (4-for-14) field goal shooting.
The Hawks, who improve to 2-3 on the season with the win, were paced by Singer and sophomore Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara), who each scored 11 points. Singer scored nine of her 11 in the second half, including the deciding three-pointer. She added five rebounds, two assists and four steals, and hit 5-of-6 free throws in the game. Canady added six boards as well, while freshman Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.
After Julia Paquette scored the first basket of the game for Davidson, five points apiece from Womack and Canady pushed Monmouth's early advantage to 11-4 with 12:41 left in the first half. Davidson then went on a 13-0 scoring run, keyed by eight straight points from 6-3 center Sarah Davis, to take a 20-15 lead with 6:03 left before halftime.
The Wildcats took a 28-24 lead into halftime after Paquette scored to end the half. MU shot 32% from the floor in the first half, compared to 54.5% for Davidson. The Hawks connected on 3-of-6 of their first half three-pointers with Canady hitting both of her attempts and Womack, who led the Hawks with nine first half points, making her only triple. Canady added eight opening half points while freshman Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) contributed six rebounds.
The Hawks, who were outscored 24-8 in the paint in the first half, committed 17 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, which Davidson turned into 19 points. MU, which hit 5-of-7 first half free throws, outrebounded Davidson 21-11 in the opening period, including 10-3 on the offensive glass.
Monmouth was able to tie the contest at 30-30 after two free throws from Adriana Allen (Ajax, Ont./Pickering) with 10:14 left in the second half, but DC retook the lead after a three-pointer from Ashley Lax with 8:45 remaining. Davidson kept MU at arm's length, maintaining between a three and five point advantage, until Canady connected on a three with 3:20 left to cut the lead to 41-40.
Martin added three points and seven rebounds for MU while Thibault added three points and three assists. The Hawks shot 28.9% (13-for-45) for the game, while Davidson connected on 44.4% (16-of-36) of its field goals in the game. Monmouth hit six three's in the game, three from Canady and two from Singer, and outrebounded the Wildcats 39-28, including 16-5 on the offensive end.
Davidson was led by Sarah Davis, who scored 14 points and pulled down six boards. DC outscored Monmouth in the paint 28-12 and 20-18 in points off turnovers. The two teams each committed 30 turnovers.
In addition to defeating Davidson, MU's Womack was named to the 2009 UNCW-Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team. She joins Sarah Davis from Davidson, Martha White and Brittany Blackwell from UNC Wilmington and Samantha Pollino from Duquesne. Alex Gensler from Duquesne was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday when they hosts Stony Brook at 7:00 pm in the MAC.
