Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Chevannah Paalvast (Auckland, New Zealand/Massey) scored a team-high 13 points, including the 1,000th of her career, but the No. 9 Monmouth University women's basketball team fell to top-seeded Iona, 71-56, Friday afternoon in the MAAC Championship Quarterfinals at the MassMutual Center. The Hawks (8-25) gave Iona (26-4) all it could handle in the second half, leading as late as midway through the period. But the Gaels outscored the Hawks, 23-8, in the final seven and a half minutes of regulation. The Gaels will move on to face the winner of Friday's second quarterfinal between No. 4 Quinnipiac and No. 5 Canisius.
Paalvast became the 17th player in Monmouth Division I history to score 1,000 career points with a jumper at the 6:26 mark of the first half. Helena Kurt (Spanga, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) matched Paalvast's 13 points, tying her season-high. Kurt also added three assists. Jasmine Walker (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) compiled her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Iona's Joy Adams went for a double-double of 29 points and 16 rebounds, eight on the offensive boards. She also added five steals. Damika Martinez also scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds.
“I'm really disappointed. We really came into this game with high hopes,” said Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer. “Iona is just such a powerful team and they have so many weapons, so we knew we'd have our work cut out for us. I was really proud of the way our team battled back. We gave it our best shot. I feel like when we tied it and took lead in the second half and went on a little bit of a run that it might actually happen. Then I think we ran out of gas. We ran out of gas a little bit and they're a team that can take advantage of that, and take advantage in a hurry. But I'm really proud of our team.”
Iona immediately jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the early going, but the Hawks scored six of the next seven points to tie the game at 6-6. Adams broke an 8-8 tie with a jumper at the 16:08 mark and the Gaels didn't trail the rest of the half. After an Adams three-point play, Paalvast and Jenny Horvatinovic (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion Area) knocked down jumpers to cut the deficit to 13-12. But Iona went on a quick 7-0 run to create some separation. The lead swelled to as many as 12 points on a Martinez three-pointer at the 1:45 mark, but a Paalvast lay-up and two Walker free throws cut the deficit to 33-25 at the half.
Paalvast led Monmouth with 10 points at the break, while Walker added five. Kurt dished out three first-half assists. Martinez led all scorers with 16 points at the half, including 4-of-7 shooting from long range. Adams added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Trailing by nine with 17 minutes to play, the Hawks went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two. Walker got things started with a three-pointer, before Kurt stole the ball and knocked down a jumper. Walker capped the run with a lay-up at the 15:38 mark. The run extended to 13-3 as Paalvast buried a three and Sophie Beaudry (Chambly, Quebec/College-Notre Dame de Lourdes) converted a traditional three-point play at the 13:13 mark to give the Hawks their first lead of the game, 42-41. Monmouth extended its lead to 46-42 at the 11:38 mark as Kurt knocked down a three and Beaudry made 1-of-2 free throws. All told, the Hawks outscored Iona, 17-4, over a span of just under five minutes.
Adams, who had taken a seat due to foul trouble, reentered the game at the 11:38 mark and the Gaels scored the next six points, four coming from the sophomore forward. A Sara English (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West [UMass]) jumper in the paint tied the game at 48-48 with 7:47 to play, but the Gaels would outscore Monmouth, 23-8, the rest of the way to earn the victory. Adams had 18 points and eight rebounds in the second half.
For the game, the Hawks outshot the Gaels, 37.1 percent (23-62) to 33.9 percent (21-62) from the floor and 33.3 percent (4-12) to 25.9 percent (7-27) from long range. The Hawks also outrebounded the Gaels, 43-40. Iona enjoyed an 81.5 percent (22-27) to 66.7 percent (6-9) advantage from the free-throw line.
