EASTON, Pa. - Junior forward Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) scored the last two of her game-high 23 points with 25 seconds left as the Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated Lehigh, 75-73, Friday night in the opening round of the Thanksgiving Classic at Lafayette College's Kirby Sports Center. The win signifies the first as a collegiate head coach for Monmouth's Jenny Palmateer. The Hawks move to 1-3 with the victory, while the Mountain Hawks fall to 1-5.

"It feels awesome," said Palmateer. "I'm just really most excited for our team because we've had some really tough games early on. We've been playing so hard and tough and I'm so happy for them to see their hard work pay off and be able to pull this one out."

Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) contributed 16 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from long range and two key trifectas in the second half to turn two Hawks' deficits into leads. Betsy Gadziala (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro), earning the first start of her career, scored 11 points, to go along with six rebounds. Martin had a team-high eight rebounds, while Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) had a solid all-around performance with seven points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Hilary Weaver and Kelly Peterson led Lehigh with 13 points apiece, while Alexa Williams (12) and Aly Byorick (10) also reached double-figures for the Mountain Hawks. Williams had a game-high nine rebounds.

The Hawks overcame a 23-of-26 performance from the free-throw line by Lehigh in the second half. After Katie O'Reilly knocked down a three-pointer with 3:16 remaining in the second half to put the Mountain Hawks up by four, Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) immediately responded with a trifecta of her own to cut the deficit to one. Following a Hawks' defensive stop on the next Lehigh possession, Thibault gave the Hawks their first lead since the 10:52 mark of the second half with a three at the 1:17 mark.

The 22^nd and 23^rd points of the second half from the free-throw for Lehigh came from Williams to tie the game at 73-73 with 37 seconds remaining. After a missed Monmouth jumper with 28 seconds left, Martin cleaned up the glass and put it back up and in for the deciding bucket with 25 seconds left. The Hawks made a defensive stop with 13 seconds remaining, but the front end of a Singer one-and-one drew iron. But Peterson's three-point attempt at the buzzer would not fall and the Hawks came away with the victory.

For the game, the Hawks outshot Lehigh, 46.0 percent (29-63) to 33.3 percent (18-54) from the floor and 46.7 (7-15) to 42.1 percent (8-19) from long range. Lehigh took an 80.6 percent (29-36) to 66.7 percent (10-15) edge from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Hawks, 40-36. The Hawks dished out 15 assists, while turning the ball over 12 times. Meanwhile, the Hawks forced 17 Lehigh turnovers and the Mountain Hawks totaled eight assists. The game featured five lead changes and nine ties. Monmouth took a 40-14 edge on points in the paint.   

Monmouth continues Thanksgiving Challenge action Sunday, when it faces Lafayette at Wagner College. Opening tip from the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, N.Y., is slated for 2 p.m.