LORETTO, Pa. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team, seeded second, fell at top-seeded Saint Francis University, 72-57 in the final of the 2011 Northeast Conference Tournament on Sunday afternoon at DeGol Arena. The Hawks (23-9) will next play in the 2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), at a site, date and time to be determined Monday night.
Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia) and Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) each led the way with 19 points apiece for MU, while Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z. /Marian College) added 13 points. Only four Hawks scored in the game, as the other six points came courtesy of Adriana Allen (Ajax, Ont. /Pickering).
Martin earned All-NEC All-Tournament recognition for her efforts during MU's run to the final, averaging 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in the three postseason games.
Saint Francis took an 11-8 lead with 14:47 left in the first half after Allison Smith canned a corner jumper. The host's doubled their lead to six points after Allison Daly buried a three-pointer two minutes later. The Red Flash connected on six of their first 10 (60%) shots en route to its early advantage.
NEC Player of the Year Samantha Leach extended SFU's lead to 24-15 after hitting a three with 7:35 remaining before halftime. Martin scored six straight points for the Hawks, but Saint Francis maintained a seven-point lead with 3:38 left in the opening half.
The Red Flash, which shot 50% in the first, ended the opening half on a 7-0 scoring run to take a 36-24 lead into intermission behind nine points apiece from Daly and Leach. MU, which shot 41%, was paced in the first half by Martin's eight first-half points.
Womack became the second Hawk into double-figure scoring after draining consecutive three-pointers to cut SFU's lead to 40-36 with 14:46 left in the game. The Red Flash responded with a 14-1 scoring run, in which four different players scored field goals, to take a 54-37 lead with 7:54 left in the game, its biggest advantage of the contest to that point.
Martin's lay-up with 6:46 remaining in the second half broke an eight-minute field goal drought for the Hawks, but SFU still led by 17 points.
SFU was led by NEC Tournament MVP Brittany Lilley and Leach, who each scored 19 points.
