NEW BRITAIN, Conn. ? The Monmouth University women's basketball team rode its defense and a balanced scoring attack in defeating Central Connecticut State 67-51 to end the 2008-09 regular season on Monday night at Detrick Gym. The Hawks end the regular season with a 17-12 overall record and an 11-7 mark in league play while CCSU falls to 17-12 and 12-6 in the Northeast Conference.\
With MU trailing 37-33 at halftime after allowing the Blue Devils to shoot 65.4% from the field in the first half, the Hawks cranked up the defensive intensity after intermission. Monmouth held Central to 14 points after halftime and only 16.7% shooting from the floor in taking control of the contest in the second half.
“I am going to credit Geoff Billet (Christian Brother Academy boy's head coach and former MU men's assistant) with tonight's win,” said Monmouth head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. “At halftime when we were down four and having trouble containing their guards off the dribble I was reminded about the CBA-Neptune Shore Conference Boy's Final. Geoff doesn't usually play a zone and went to it after the Neptune guards had their way with CBA's defense and I wanted to try the same thing.”
After a first half that saw nine lead changes, the Hawks took a 46-43 lead on a three-pointer from freshman Alexis Scott (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) with15:05 to go in the game and didn't relinquish their advantage, which would grow to as much as 17 points. The Hawks forced 13 second half turnovers en route to the win.
Monmouth and Blue Devils went back and forth all first half as the lead changes hands nine times and the score was tied six times before intermission. The Hawks were paced in the first 20 minutes by Scott and senior LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) with eight points apiece and senior Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech), who scored seven points and pulled down nine boards.
MU shot 41% in the first half (16-of-39) while Central Connecticut State shot 65.4% (17-of-26), but the Hawks outrebounded the hosts 24-10 and 15-0 on the offensive boards in the first half. MU outscored Central 15-0 on second chance points in the first half.
MU was paced by Bender's 16 points and 11 rebounds, which represented her eighth double-double of the season and the 23rd of the senior's career. Scott added 15 points while Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds. Barber contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) added nine points and seven rebounds.
The Hawks outrebounded CCSU 44-30, including 20-10 on the offensive glass which resulted in a 19-2 advantage on second chance points. Monmouth also outscored the Blue Devils 48-20 in the paint.
Freshman Shontice Simmons led CCSU with 17 points, including 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor in the first half. The Blue Devils shot 39.3% for the game after shooting 65.4% in the first half.
Monmouth ends the season in a three-way tie for third place in the NEC along with Quinnipiac and Saint Francis University. Due to tiebreakers, the Red Flash will be the third seed, the Bobcats are the fourth seed and the Hawks are the fifth seed. MU returns to action on Saturday, March 7 when they take on Quinnipiac in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament at 2:30 pm at the Pitt Center in Fairfield, Connecticut. Sacred Heart will host the first two rounds of the NEC Tournament this weekend.
“We open up with Quinnipiac and every game at this point of the season is tough,” added Gaitley. “I feel as though both teams are playing their best basketball of the season right now and both teams are very senior-heavy.”
