FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team notched a pivotal Northeast Conference victory, defeating Sacred Heart University, 59-54 on Saturday afternoon at the Pitt Center. The Hawks, who with the win have now recorded their first 20-win season since the 1987-88 campaign, also swept the season series from the Pioneers for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z. /Marian College) took the game over in the final minutes, scoring seven straight points, including a driving lay-up with a minute left gave the Hawks a 56-54 lead. From there, MU's defense and free-throw shooting finished the game out.
MU (20-8, 12-5 NEC) built an 18-point first half lead with 7:51 showing, and then had to come back after falling behind by seven points with 7:21 left in the second half.
Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia) logged her fourth double-double of the season, and the eighth of her career, leading the Hawks with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rooney recorded 14 points, while Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) and Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) each chipped in with 10 points.
Monmouth tallied the contest's first 10 points, keeping SHU off the scoreboard for the first six-plus minutes of the opening half, in taking a nine-point lead with 13:46 showing in the first. Singer buried a three-pointer to extend MU's early advantage to 15-1 with 11:35 left in the first half.
The Hawks limited the Pioneers without a field goal for the game's first 12-plus minutes while taking a 19-1 lead. The Pioneers countered with a 9-0 scoring run of their own, keyed by five straight points from senior Maggie Cosgrove, to cut the Hawks' lead to 19-10 with 5:43 remaining in the half.
After leading by as many as 18 points in the opening half, MU took a 29-21 lead into halftime. The Hawks, who were paced by Martin's 10 points and eight rebounds in the first half, outrebounded Sacred Heart in the first 20 minutes by 10 and held a 10-2 advantage in second-chance points.
SHU cut Monmouth's eight-point intermission lead in half at 33-29 with 17:53 remaining in regulation. A three-pointer from Alexis Campbell further cut into the Hawks' advantage to 35-34 with 15:48 left in the game. Callan Taylor hit a pair of free throws to give the hosts their first lead, and after a stop, she connected in the paint to put the Pioneers up 40-37 with 13:09 left.
Sacred Heart took a 47-40 lead, its biggest of the game to that point, with just less than seven minutes left in the contest. The Hawks responded with a 7-0 scoring run of their own to tie the game after Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) connected on a jumper from just inside with arc with five minutes left.
Taylor paced Sacred Heart with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds. Cosgrove added 11 points and three rebounds.
MU, which has already clinched a berth in the upcoming league tournament, concludes the 2010-11 regular season on Monday evening when it visits Quinnipiac University.
