FAIRFIELD, Conn. ? The Monmouth University women's basketball team, seeded fifth, upset fourth-seeded Quinnipiac, 69-67 in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinals at the William H. Pitt Center on the campus of Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks, who pull a quarterfinal round upset in the conference tournament for the third straight season with the win, improve to 18-12 on the season while the Bobcats fall to 18-11.
Monmouth senior Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) stole the ball from Quinnipiac's Erin Kerner as time expired to solidify the win for the Hawks, who led by as many as 20 points in the first half and withstood a late, frantic Bobcat rally to pull out the win.
After Monmouth's double-digit lead was whittled down to two at 49-47 with just less than eight minutes left in the game, consecutive three-pointers from freshman Alexis Scott (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) and senior Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) pushed the advantage back to eight points.
The Hawks now advance to take on top-seeded Sacred Heart on Sunday in the NEC Semifinals at 1:30 pm at the Pitt Center.
Monmouth took an early 7-2 lead behind two free throws and a driving bucket from senior LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./.Gwynn Park) at the 15:34 mark of the first half. The Hawks extended their advantage to 17-4 after a quick 8-0 scoring run, capped off by consecutive baskets from freshman Alexis Scott, the second a pull up jumper, with 12:00 remaining before the half.
MU's lead remained in double digits at 23-12 with 7:46 left before intermission. The Hawks connected on 10 of their first 15 shots (66.7%), all from within the three-point arc, while limiting the Bobcats to 29.4% shooting (5-for-17) through the same stretch. The Blue and White's first three-pointer came courtesy of senior Jennifer Bender with just over seven minutes left in the opening half to increase the Hawks lead to 28-12.
MU kept the momentum going two possessions later when senior Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) electrified the crowd with a no-look pass in transition to Bender for the bucket to increase the Hawks advantage to 32-12 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.
Quinnipiac responded with a 10-0 scoring run to cut Monmouth's lead to 32-22 with 2:13 left in the half after a straight-away three from Brianna Rooney. MU's 20-point lead stood at five at halftime, 33-28. The Bobcats closed the first half on a 16-1 run, paced by consecutive hoops from Krystal Lazos to close the opening period.
The Hawks were led by Bender's 14 first half points on 6-of-7 shooting. Barber added nine points and Scott contributed six in the opening half. MU shot 56% in the first half and dished out six first half assists, three from Jimenez. Erin Kerner led Quinnipiac, who shot 37.9% in the first half, with 12 points while Rooney added six points.
Monmouth's lead grew back into double digits at 38-28 with 15:49 left in the game after Jimenez grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the put back. Freshman Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) made two straight hoops to give the Hawks a 44-35 lead with 11:47 left in the contest. After MU's lead had swollen to 49-39, six quick points from Quinnipiac's Kerner cut the lead to 49-45 with 8:33 left in the game, and after a put back from Lazos, MU held a two-point lead.
Bender led the way with 24 points and six rebounds for MU. Barber added 17 points and five boards and Scott contributed 11 points and three assists. The Hawks shot 43.9% for the game and outrebounded the Bobcats 42-33. Quinnipiac was paced by Kerner's 29 points, while Rooney and Kathleen Neyens each added 11 points.
