BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Behind double-doubles from Sara English (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West/UMass) and Jenny Horvatinovic (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion Area), the Monmouth women's basketball team earned its first win of the season on Thursday night, beating LIU Brooklyn 78-57 at the Steinberg Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Monmouth didn't relinquish the lead after the 13:34 mark of the first half to improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Blackbirds drop to 0-2.

Sarah Olson (Freehold, N.J./Howell/NJIT) led the Hawks in scoring for the second consecutive game with 16 points on four three-pointers. English pitched in 13 points and 11 boards, while Horvatinovic added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jasmine Walker (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) was the fourth Hawk in double figures with 12, and Helena Kurt (Spanga, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) notched seven points, four assists and two steals.

Sophie Bhasin led the way for LIU Brooklyn with 16 points, and Ashley Brown had 13 for the home team. Letava Whippy contributed seven rebounds and seven steals.

“LIU was going to be a team that got after us on both ends of the floor, they're relentless on the boards, and I thought we did a really good job handling their pressure,” said Head Coach Jenny Palmateer. “Our rebounding was a big key for us today.”

After LIU Brooklyn opened up a 7-3 lead, Monmouth responded with a 17-4 run to take a 20-11 lead behind a pair of Olson three's and two English buckets midway through the first half. The Hawks would not relinquish that lead the rest of the night, leading by as many as 17 in the first half. English notched her first career three pointer during that run, stepping back from the right side.

Amanda Offenback (Delran, N.J./Holy Cross) knocked down her first career triple with just under five minutes to go in the opening stanza, hitting from the right corner immediately after entering the contest. The Blue and White closed out the first half on an 8-2 spurt to end the half with a 41-25 lead. Olson and English combined for 21 first half points.

Olson opened the second half with a three barely 30 seconds in before the Blackbirds chipped away and cut the Monmouth lead to 10 with a 9-0 run to make it 44-34 with 16:49 remaining, forcing an MU timeout. The Hawks gradually pushed the lead back to 19, getting baskets from Olson, Walker and Horvatinovic. LIU Brooklyn continued to push but couldn't draw any closer than 14, getting within that margin with 5:31 left. Horvatinovic rattled home a three with just over three minutes left to put the lead at 20, with the final margin at 21 in favor of the Blue and White.

Overall, Monmouth shot 46% on the night from the floor (24-52), compared to just under 28% for the Blackbirds (19-68). The Hawks connected on eight three-pointers, good for 44%, while LIU Brooklyn hit on just two-of-23 from downtown. The Blue and White converted on 73% from the free throw stripe, with the Blackbirds hitting 63% from the line. MU outrebounded LIU 46-40, and forced 24 turnovers.

The Hawks return to the floor next Tuesday night, November 25 at 7 p.m. when Fairleigh Dickinson visits the Multipurpose Activity Center.