WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated Howard, 61-50 on Tuesday afternoon in the first game of the inaugural Hawk Holiday Classic presented by Staybridge Suites and Hotels. MU, now 4-6 on the season, advances to the tournament's championship game tomorrow at 4:00 pm to face La Salle, who defeated Holy Cross, 65-51.
"I think we took a step in the right direction today after a long layoff," said Monmouth head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. "Some people stepped up in spite of some injuries and our youth."
The Hawks, who took a 26-13 lead into intermission en route to the win, were paced by sophomore Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) and her career-high tying 16 points. She hit a career-best 5-of-7 from three-point range in the game, adding four assists and four rebounds. Freshman Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) also netted a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
Freshman forward Abby Martin (Columbia, N.J. /Maplewood) and Womack combined for all 10 points as MU took a 10-5 lead with 11:44 left in the first half. The Hawks limited Howard to 1-of-14 shooting from the field through the first 8:16 of game action. Monmouth extended its lead to 19-9 after freshman Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) canned a three from the right wing with 6:20 left in the opening half.
The Hawks doubled up the Bison at halftime, leading 26-13 at the break. Womack led the Hawks with 10 points in the opening half, as Martin added seven and a team-high four rebounds. A trio of Hawks, Canady and freshmen Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z. /Marian College) and Singer each contributed one three-pointer.
MU shot 37.5% (9-of-24) in the first half, while Howard hit on 17.9% (5-of-28) of its first half shots. The Bison outrebounded the Hawks 20-19 in the opening half, and were paced by Saadia Doyle's 9 points and four boards.
After a brief Howard run, Canady and Singer connected on back-to-back three's to give the Hawks a 46-26 midway through the second half. The Bison cut Monmouth's 20-point lead in half six minutes later, at 56-46, following four straight free throws. That 10-point deficit was the closest Howard would get, as the Hawks would push their lead to 14 with two minutes to go.
Martin added nine points and a game-high six rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Rooney contributed seven points and three assists, while Adriana Allen (Ajax, Ont. /Pickering) and Singer each added six points apiece for the Hawks, who shot 43.9% for the game (18-for-41), including 52.9% (9-of-17) in the second half.
Howard shot 29.8% (17-of-57) for the game and was paced by Saadia Doyle's game-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
