WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth University's women's basketball team (3-2) led for all but one minute of the game in Friday evening's 68-54 victory over Lafayette (2-3) at the Multipurpose Activity Center. MU, which claims its second straight win, was led by Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn. /East Lyme) and Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara), who paced four Hawks in double figures.
Canady and Thibault, who each shot 4-of-7 from downtown, led all scorers with 14 points apiece. Canady added six assists and four rebounds, while Thibault, who equaled her career-high in points, pulled down four boards and dished out three assists. Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) added 12 points while chipping in eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive glass, while Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia) had nine boards and 10 points in the contest.
MU led 33-27 after an up-and-down first half. The Hawks only shot 35.5% from the field in the opening half, but connected on 5-of-10 of its first-half three's to take a six-point point halftime lead. Monmouth clamped down defensively in the second half, limiting Lafayette to 34.6% shooting, while hitting 15-of-30 from the floor after intermission.
The Hawks hit a season-high nine triples in the game, while outrebounding the Leopards, 41-35, pulling down 20 on the offensive glass.
Senior Gena Broadus (Washington, D.C. /Archbishop Carroll [George Mason]) collected eight points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z. /Marian College) had five points and five assists.
Lafayette's Sarah McGorry led the visitors with 13 points while Lauren Jackson and Madeline Fahan each had eight points in the loss.
Monmouth is back on the hardwood on Nov. 30 when it travels to Long Island for a 7 p.m. game against Stony Brook.
