BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team downed St. Francis College, 65-30 on Thursday evening at Peter Aquilone Court in the Pope Center. The Hawks, winners of five straight, improve to 15-11 overall and 10-5 in the Northeast Conference with the win, while the Terriers fall to 2-24 and 1-14 in the league.
MU led wire-to-wire in the contest, with its largest lead being the final margin of victory.
With the win, the Hawks pick up their 10th league victory of the season, the 11th time in the last 12 years and 18th time overall, that MU has cracked double-digits in conference victories.
Freshman Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia) paced three Hawks in double-digits with 15 points and seven rebounds. Fellow newcomers Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) and Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z. /Marian College) contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively, with the former adding a pair of assists and steals each.
The Hawks opened up a 9-0 lead to begin the contest, paced by a pair of buckets apiece from Womack and Martin, with just less than 15 minutes to go in the opening half. Rooney drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to put MU up 16-5 with 11:15 showing before halftime.
A three-pointer from Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn. /East Lyme) and a traditional three-point play from Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) pushed Monmouth's lead to 22-6 with 6:59 left in the first half. The Hawks took a 28-12 lead into halftime, the fewest points MU has given up in a first half since December 29, 2008, when it allowed the same amount to Howard at home.
Monmouth limited SFC to 20.8% shooting in the first half while outrebounding the Terriers, 24-14. Martin led the Hawks, who shot 40.7% in the first half, with nine opening half points and six boards while Canady contributed five points, four rebounds and two assists.
Womack began the second half with a pair of triples, sandwiched by a traditional three-point play, to help extend MU's lead to 40-19 with 16:02 left in the game.
Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) added six points, five boards and two assists, while Canady contributed five points, six rebounds and a career-high six assists. Thibault added a triple, five rebounds and two assists, while Adriana Allen (Ajax, Ont. /Pickering) four points and four helpers.
Monmouth makes a return trip to Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon when it takes on Long Island University at 2:00 pm.
