WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The Monmouth University women's basketball team, behind a career-high 27 points from senior Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech), snapped its two-game losing streak with a 71-54 win over St. Francis College in Northeast Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Boylan Gym. The Hawks even their season mark at 11-11 overall and 6-6 in the NEC while SFC drops to 3-19 and 2-10 in the league.
Monmouth took a 20-19 lead on a Bender lay in with 4:57 to go in the first half and did not relinquish the advantage for the rest of the contest.
“I feel this is as close to a complete game that we have played all season,” said Monmouth head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. “We were very efficient on offense and shared the ball very well today as evidenced by us having more assists than turnovers. We also did a very solid job defensively holding them to 54 points."
Freshman Alexis Scott (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) gave MU a 7-4 lead at the 15:26 mark of the first half after drilling a three from the top of the key. The two teams then traded buckets until senior Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) broke a 14-14 deadlock with a left wing three-pointer to give MU a three point advantage with 8:07 left in the first period.
After senior Laura Forbes (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional) gave the Hawks 24-22 lead right before the last media timeout of the half, SFC took a one-point advantage after Kara Ayers, the league's leading scorer, drilled a three with just less than a minute to go. Jimenez helped Monmouth regain the lead at 27-25 after hitting her second triple of the first half with 1:20 to go in the opening period.
The Hawks went into the locker room with momentum after Scott got the friendly roll on a left wing three to give MU a 32-25 intermission lead. The freshman led the Hawks with 10 first half points and four rebounds. Senior Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) added nine points while Jimenez also chipped in with nine points and added four assists compared to only one turnover. MU shot 47.8% from the floor in the first half, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. St. Francis College shot 50% from the floor in the first half led by Kendra Williams and Ayers, who each scored 10 points.
Monmouth carried their first half momentum into the second period, racing out to a 39-25 lead 1:03 into the second half after Bender rattled off four quick points in the scoring run. MU maintained its double-digit cushion at 46-33 after senior LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) connected on a jumper.
After the Terriers cut Monmouth's lead to 11, Jimenez came up with a steal and fed fellow senior Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) ahead of the pack for a hoop. Montas was fouled and completed the traditional three-point play to give the Hawks a 55-41 lead with 7:45 left in the game.
Monmouth was paced by Bender's career-high 27 points, including 18 in the second half, on 10-of-14 shooting. Jimenez added a season-high 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range and a career-high 10 assists for her first career double-double. Scott scored 13 points, hitting all three of her three-pointers, and added a career-high four assists in the game while Montas scored five points, pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists compared to no turnovers. Barber scored nine points in the game, just missing out on her eighth straight double-digit scoring performance.
The Hawks, whose 71 points represent a season-high, dished out 20 assists compared to 15 turnovers, the second time this season they have logged more assists than turnovers (Sacred Heart on Jan. 3, 2009). MU shot a season-high 55.8% for the game, including 6-of-8 from three-point territory.
SFC shot 48.9% from the field in the game and was led by Ayers' 21 points. Kendra Williams added 16 points and six rebounds for the Terriers.
Monmouth returns to action on Monday, February 9 when they host future NEC member Bryant at 7:00 pm.
