WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team dropped a 72-62 decision to Bryant in Northeast Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Activity Center. The Hawks fall to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in the NEC, while the Bulldogs improve to 4-10 and even their league record at 2-2.
Freshman Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia) led three Hawks in double-figures, recording her third double-double of the season with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. She hit 7-of-11 from the floor, adding a block and two steals. Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) added 15 points and a career-best five assists while sophomore Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) contributed 12 points and four rebounds.
Monmouth held between a two and four point lead until the 6:54 mark of the second half, when Bryant took the lead and never relinquished it, snapping a six-game losing streak in the process.
MU took an early 7-6 lead, hitting its first three shots from the field, when Womack connected on a jumper with 15:45 left in the opening half. Canady gave MU a 25-22 advantage when she knocked down a left corner three with 8:08 remaining before halftime.
Canady ended the first half's scoring, and beat the opening period's buzzer, with a pull-up jumper to give Monmouth a 39-37 lead at the break. The Hawks had their second-straight hot-shooting first half, connecting on 48.3% (14-for-29) of their field goals, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Martin and Canady each had 12 points in the first half for the Hawks.
Bryant's Kristin Mraz knotted the contest at 45 all after hitting a three-pointer, but MU's Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn. /East Lyme) gave the Hawks back the lead with a three of her own on the next possession with just less than 15 minutes to go in the game.
Freshman Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) swished home a three from the right corner to give the Hawks a 51-47 lead with just less than 12 minutes left in the contest.
The Bulldogs cut Monmouth's lead to 53-52 with 7:33 left in the game after Kelsey O'Keefe got the friendly roll on a triple from the top of the key. The visitor's then took the lead at 54-53 when Mraz slipped to the basket and scored off a back screen with just less than seven minutes to go. BU matched its largest lead of the game at 61-56 after O'Keefe scored off an assist from Meredith Soper with 3:46 to go in the game.
The Hawks shot 39.3% (22-of-56) in the game, and only 29.6% (8-for-27) in the second half, where Bryant outscored MU 35-23. BU hit 52% (26-of-50) of its shots, and was paced by O'Keefe's 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting. O'Keefe's 33 points is the highest scoring output by a Monmouth opponent since Robert Morris' Sade Logan scored 36 points in RMU's 95-83 win on February 4, 2008.
Bryant is currently in its second season competing at the Division I level, which is also year two of the mandatory four-year transition period before becoming a full-fledged, program-wide Division I school. Upon completion of the four-year transition, Bryant will become the 12th member of the NEC in 2012. Until that time, the Bulldogs are not eligible for NEC or NCAA postseason play, however this year BU is playing a full league schedule and will be included in the conference standings.
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, January 14 when they visit Saint Francis University for a 5:00 pm tip in Loretto, Pa.
