HAMDEN, Conn. - Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) scored a game-high 21 points as the Monmouth University women's basketball team held off second-seeded Quinnipiac, 69-66, Tuesday night in the Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals at the TD Bank Sports Center. With the win, the Hawks (19-12) advance to the NEC Tournament Championship Game for the second-straight season, while the Bobcats fall to 22-9 and await a potential WNIT berth. The Hawks will look for their first NEC Tournament Championship since 1987 at top-seeded Sacred Heart, Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.  

Womack did her damage on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. She also added a team-high six rebounds. Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) added 15 points, while Chevannah Paalvast (Auckland, New Zealand/Massey) chipped in 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) dished out a team-high five assists. The Hawks shot 52.0 percent (26-50) from the floor for the game.

Jasmine Martin and Brittany McQuain scored 20 points apiece for Quinnipiac, while Samantha Guastella added 13 points. Gillian Abshire dished out seven assists. The Hawks held NEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-NEC First Team honoree Felicia Barron, the nation's leader in steals per game (4.4), to just seven points and one steal on 2-for-14 shooting on the night.

The Hawks came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, making eight of their first nine shots, including two each from Womack, Martin and Broadus. The Hawks' lead swelled to as many as 16 points, 29-13, on Paalvast's free throw at the 9:33 mark. Monmouth took a 14-point cushion, 42-28, into the locker room at halftime on the strength of 56.7 percent (17-30) shooting. Womack led the Hawks with 13 points at the break, while Paalvast chipped in eight points. Monmouth forced 14 Quinnipiac turnovers in the opening stanza, while coughing it up just six times. The Hawks took nine steals in the opening half. McQuain led Quinnipiac with nine first-half points.

With the Hawks leading by 13 points with 16:24 remaining in regulation, Quinnipiac went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to five, 46-41 with 14:15 remaining. The Bobcats continued to whittle away until Martin's fast-break jumper with 8:32 remaining tied the game at 52-52. A Guastella free throw at the 7:38 mark gave Quinnipiac its first lead since 3-0, 11 seconds into the game. Just eight seconds later, the Bobcats forced a turnover and Martin converted a three-point play to put QU on top, 56-52 with 7:30 remaining.

The Bobcats' advantage remained four points, 60-56, with five minutes remaining, before the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to take a lead it would not relinquish. Paalvast fed Gena Broadus (Washington, D.C./Archbishop Carroll [George Mason]) for a lay-up to start the run, before ripping away a steal and being fouled. The junior wing knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to tie the game before Womack knocked down a jumper with 3:45 remaining to give Monmouth a 62-60 lead. The run concluded on two Womack free throws with 2:58 left in regulation, giving MU a 64-60 lead.

The Bobcats cut the lead to two on two occasions down the stretch, the last with 1:01 remaining on McQuain's three-point play. The Hawks milked most of the 30-second shot clock on the other end before turning it over to the Bobcats. Quinnipiac also used nearly the entire shot clock before Barron hoisted a left-wing three-pointer with five seconds left. Paalvast grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.3 seconds remaining. She made 1-of-2 free throws, leaving the door open for QU with 2.1 seconds left. But Barron's heave from beyond half court fell harmlessly to the hardwood, giving Monmouth the victory.

For the game, the Hawks outshot the Bobcats, 52.0 percent (26-50) to 43.4 percent (23-53) from the floor and 37.5 percent (3-8) to 26.3 percent (5-19) from long range. Quinnipiac outshot Monmouth, 71.4 percent (15-21) to 63.6 percent (14-22), from the free-throw line. The Bobcats outrebounded the Hawks, 34-27. Monmouth forced 20 Quinnipiac turnovers, while turning it over 18 times, moving to 16-1 this season when committing the same or fewer turnovers than the opposition.