FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team erased an 18-point
deficit, but fell to top-seeded Sacred Heart, 58-48, in the Northeast
Conference Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon at the Pitt Center. Alysha
Womack (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) finished with a team-high 13 points
for the Hawks, whose season ends at 19-13. The Pioneers (25-7) advance to the NCAA
Tournament with the win.
"I'm really disappointed to
fall short in that one," said Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer. "But at the
same time, I'm really proud of the team to get to this point. I'm really,
really proud of our team and what we achieved this season. I thought Sacred
Heart was phenomenal today. They did a great job. They really jumped on us in
that first half."
Chanel Gomez (Perth Amboy,
N.J./Perth Amboy [Brookdale C.C.]) added eight points and a game-high 11
rebounds for the Hawks, while Gena Broadus (Washington, D.C./Archbishop Carroll
[George Mason]) also grabbed 11 boards for Monmouth. Betsy Gadziala (Whiteboro,
N.Y./Whitesboro) also chipped in eight points. For their contributions during
the NEC Tournament, Womack and Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) were
named to the All-Tournament Team.
Ericka Norman scored a
team-high 18 points, while also adding six steals and two assists for the
Pioneers. Gabrielle Washington chipped in 13 points and six rebounds, while
Morgan Merriman had 11 points. Callan Taylor also contributed seven points and
eight rebounds.
"[Sacred Heart] had some
people who really stepped up, people who are solid, but not really known for
putting up many points," said Palmateer. "Norman was phenomenal. Merriman was
phenomenal. Our goal going in was to be able to shut down Taylor and
Washington. I thought we did a decent job on those two. So, give a lot of
credit to them. I think they'll do well in the NCAA Tournament. I'm going to be
pulling for them as they move on."
After the teams traded the
lead five times in the opening minutes, Sacred Heart went on a 23-4 run to open
a double-digit advantage, 28-10, on a Washington jumper. The Pioneers made 12
of their first 17 shots, including a stretch of eight straight attempts, while
holding Monmouth to 21.7 percent (5-23) shooting in the span. But the Hawks
scored 10 of the next 12 points, including four each from Gadziala and Gomez,
to close the half and cut the deficit to 10 points, 30-20. Norman and
Washington had seven points each to lead Sacred Heart, while Gadziala led
Monmouth with six points.
A Norman three-point play and
two Washington free throws to open the second half put Sacred Heart back on top
by 15 with 17:29 remaining in regulation. Monmouth then reeled off 17 of the
next 19 point to tie the game, 37-37. Womack scored five points in the span,
while Gomez and Broadus had four points apiece in the run. Gadziala's putback
at the 11:15 mark tied the game.
Just as quickly as the Hawks
erased the deficit, Sacred Heart rebuilt a nine-point cushion, scoring 13 of
the next 17 points. Taylor hit a three-pointer at the 10:04 mark and the
Pioneers never trailed again. Five different Sacred Heart players scored in the
run, which was capped by three-straight buckets in the paint by Merriman, the
last of which came with 1:50 to put SHU up by nine, 50-41. A Carly Thibault
(East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) three-pointer cut the deficit to six and two
Womack free throws made it a four-point game. But the Pioneers scored the last
six points of the game from the free-throw line to push the final score to
58-48.
For the game, the Pioneers
outshot the Hawks, 35.6 percent (21-59) to 29.7 percent (19-64) from the floor
and 18.2 percent (4-22) to 12.5 percent (2-16) from long range. Monmouth made
all eight of its free-throw attempts, besting the Pioneers' 75.0 percent
(12-16), while also taking a 50-36 edge on the boards. Monmouth turned the ball
over 22 times, the result of 14 Sacred Heart steals. The Pioneers turned the 22
turnovers into 21 points, while Monmouth mustered nine points off Sacred Heart's
12 turnovers.
