WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Chevannah Paalvast (Auckland, New Zealand/Massey)
scored a team-high 14 points, while Abigail Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia)
added eight of her nine points in the second half as the Monmouth University
women's basketball team defeated St. Francis Brooklyn, 51-47, on Play 4Kay Day
at the Multipurpose Activity Center Saturday. With the win, the Hawks improve
to 11-12 (8-4 NEC), while the Terriers fall to 10-14 (7-6 NEC).
Paalvast joined Martin in
scoring eight second-half points, while Martin added a career-high four blocks.
Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) added eight points, five rebounds
and a career-high four steals. Danica Dragicevic (Belgrade, Serbia/XV
Beogradska Gimnazija) also chipped in six points, five rebounds and three
assists.
Jessica Kaufman scored a
game-high 18 points, 16 in the second half, for the Terriers, while Sarah
Benedetti scored all 11 of her points in the first half. Leah Fechko also added
eight points and a game-high eight rebounds. Katie Fox dished out a game-high
five assists for St. Francis.
The first half was a
defensive battle that resulted in a 21-21 tie at the half. After the Terriers
scored the game's first five points, the Hawks scored 12 of the next 15 points
to open a four-point lead, 12-8, on Alysha Womack's (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal
O'Hara) three-pointer. St. Francis tied the game with four-straight points and
the game remained tied at 14-14 after the teams exchanged lay-ups. The Hawks
then went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-14 lead, before the Terriers matched the
run to close the half. On different occasions in the first half, the Hawks held
St. Francis without a field goal for stretches of 7:18 and 5:23.
Benedetti led all scorers at
the half with 11 points, while Paalvast and Thibault had six points apiece to
lead Monmouth. Monmouth scored nine of its 21 points off the Terriers' 10 first-half
turnovers.
After a back-and-forth
beginning of the second half, the Terriers went on a 10-0 run to take a nine-point
lead, 35-26, on the strength of eight points from Kaufman. But the Hawks scored
16 of the next 20 points to take a four-point lead. Dragicevic got the scoring
started with a putback at the 12:33 mark, before Martin scored in the paint.
Following baskets by each team, Dragicevic scored on a third-chance opportunity
at the 9:53 mark to cut the deficit to three.
Martin fed Sara English
(Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West [UMass]) down low to cut the SFC lead to one.
After a Jaymee Veney bucket at the 8:47 mark pushed the Terriers' advantage to
three, Kasey Chambers (Belmar, N.J./St. Rose) knocked down a corner three to
tie the game, 39-39, with 8:17 left to play. Paalvast then made two free throws
and the Hawks never trailed again.
The Terriers drew to within
two at the 6:27 mark, but the Hawks eventually pushed the lead to eight when Dragicevic
fed the ball from the high post down on Martin on the block for two with 3:32
remaining in regulation. St. Francis cut the deficit to four on two occasions,
including the final tally, but could draw no closer.
For the game, the Terriers
took a 40.0 percent (20-50) to 36.4 percent (20-55) advantage from the floor
and a 57.1 percent (4-7) to 50.0 percent (7-14) edge from the charity stripe.
Monmouth edged St. Francis, 25.0 percent (4-16) to 23.1 percent (3-13) from
long range and outrebounded the Terriers, 37-36. Monmouth outscored St.
Francis, 21-10, off turnovers, in spite of being just +3 in turnover margin
(18-15).
The Hawks continue Northeast
Conference play at home Monday night, when they welcome LIU Brooklyn to the
Multipurpose Activity Center. Opening tip is slated for 7 p.m.
