WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Led by Alysha Womack's (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) career-high 27 points, the Monmouth University women's basketball team opened the second half on a 14-0 run to upend NEC-leading Sacred Heart, 70-50, Monday night at the Multipurpose Activity Center. With the win, the Hawks move to 13-10 (8-4 NEC), while the Pioneers fall to 17-6 (10-2 NEC). The Hawks shot 51.0 percent (25-49) from the floor, surpassing 50 percent for the second time this season.

"I'm just really pleased with the team's effort today," said Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer. "The Quinnipiac game was disappointing for a lot of different reasons, and we had a great focus in practice yesterday and a great focus in shootaround today. We talked about bringing energy and focus and getting after it. I think when we do that, it translates to the offensive and defensive ends. I'm really proud of the team today because we had great focus. We took away the things that we knew we needed to take away and made it really tough for Sacred Heart to run their sets."

Womack did her damage on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long range. Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, while Gena Broadus (Washington, D.C./Archbishop Carroll [George Mason]) chipped in nine points, nine rebounds and three steals. Betsy Gadziala (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) also had a strong outing with seven points, five rebounds and three steals.

Callan Taylor led Sacred Heart with 13 points and seven rebounds. Ericka Norman added six points and five steals, but coughed up nine of Sacred Heart's 24 turnovers.

Down 34-33 at the half, the Hawks reeled off 14 straight points to open the second stanza and never trailed again. Womack scored seven of the 14 points, including a three-pointer to open the run and give the Hawks the lead and a jumper to cap the spurt. Canady added five points in the run. The closest the Pioneers could get the rest of the way was nine points on two occasions, while the Hawks' lead grew to as many as 21 points on two Gadziala free throws with 1:45 remaining.

The Hawks held the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the first 6:37 of the second half, another 4:57 in the middle of the period, and without a field goal for the final 6:02 of regulation. In total, Monmouth surrendered just five second-half field goals while holding the Pioneers to just 21.7 percent (5-23) in the final 20 minutes.    

For the game, the Hawks outshot the Pioneers, 51.0 percent (25-49) to 38.5 percent (20-52) from the floor and 53.8 percent (7-13) to 28.6 percent (4-14) from long distance. Sacred Heart made all six of its free throws, while Monmouth made 76.5 percent (13-17) from the charity stripe. The Hawks took a 34-24 edge on the glass. Both teams committed 24 turnovers, with the Hawks outscoring the Pioneers, 31-21, off giveaways.

A back-and-forth first half that saw 10 lead changes began with a 7-0 Sacred Heart run. The Hawks stormed back with 14 of the next 18 points to take a 14-11 edge on Womack's three-point play at the 13:47 mark. Sacred Heart twice enjoyed a four-point lead the rest of the way in the initial stanza, while the Hawks took four one-point advantages after the Pioneers took the lead at the 10:38 mark.

Both teams shot greater than 50.0 percent in the first half, as the Hawks made 56.5 percent (13-23) and the Pioneers hit 51.7 percent (15-29). The Hawks were plagued by 14 first-half turnovers, but forced nine Sacred Heart giveaways. Each team shot well from long range, with the Hawks taking a 60.0 percent (3-5) to 44.4 percent (4-9) advantage from beyond the arc. Womack led all first-half scorers with 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the floor, while Taylor led SHU with nine points.  

The Hawks return to action Saturday, when they begin NEC Rivalry Week against Garden State foe Fairleigh Dickinson. Opening tip from the MAC is scheduled for 3 p.m.