WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team topped Bryant University, 62-42 in Northeast Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center. The Hawks (13-5, 5-2 NEC), who led by as many as 24 points with 2:33 left in the game, never relinquished their lead after the 16:49 mark of the first half.
Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) led a balanced MU scoring attack with a season-high 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line. Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) also cracked into double-figures, something she has done in each game this season, with 12 points.
Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn. /East Lyme) and Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) each scored nine points for the Hawks. Thibault did all her damage in the first half with three triples, while Canady added three rebounds and two assists.
Womack gave the Hawks an early 7-5 lead after swishing through a three-pointer with 15:37 remaining in the opening half. MU held the Bulldogs scoreless for almost eight minutes in the middle of the first half, going on a 15-0 scoring run punctuated by a three-pointer from Canady to take a 22-7 lead with 9:45 remaining before halftime.
Bryant responded with an 8-2 scoring run to cut Monmouth's lead into single digits, but Thibault buried a step-back three to increase the Hawks' lead to 27-15 with 1:41 left before intermission. Thibault connected on her third triple of the first half with 35 seconds remaining to give the Blue and White a 30-17 lead at the break.
MU, which was paced by Thibault's nine first-half points, shot 41% in the opening half, while limiting Bryant to 24% shooting. The Hawks hit 6-of-13 three's in the first stanza and turned the Bulldogs eight turnovers into nine points.
The Hawks increased their double-digit advantage to 42-23 after Chevannah Paalvast (Auckland, N.Z. /Massey) converted a pull-up jump in transition with 13:27 left in the game. BU responded with a 10-2 scoring run to cut MU's lead to 44-33 with 9:08 left in the game after a Siamone Bennett lay-up.
MU weathered the Bulldogs' run and increased its lead to 51-33 after Singer canned a three-pointer in transition with 7:08 remaining in the contest.
Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia) added six points and seven rebounds, while Gena Broadus (Washington, D.C. /Archbishop Carroll [George Mason]) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. In all, nine Hawks scored and 10 gathered at least one rebound for Monmouth.
Bryant, which shot 29.3% from the floor, was led by Danielle Douglas' 12 points.
Monmouth returns to action on Monday when it visits New Britain for a 7:00 pm tip with Central Connecticut State University.
