Box Score WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Amy Griffin scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead La Salle past the Monmouth University women's basketball team, 65-50, in Wednesday's Hawk Holiday Classic Championship Game. Griffin was named tournament MVP for the Explorers (3-9), who also placed Jasmine Alston on the all-tournament team after an 11-assist, nine-rebound performance.
Tyese Purvis (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis [Monroe C.C.]) was named to the all-tournament team for MU (3-8) after averaging 11.0 points per game over the two games.
Jasmine McCall (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan [Seton Hall]) scored a career-high 15 points for the Hawks.
Purvis scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds for Monmouth on Wednesday, while
Dana Carbone (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) chipped in with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting off the bench.
Sarah Olson (Freehold, NJ/Howell [NJIT]) contributed seven points, five rebounds and two steals, while
Jamiyah Bethune (Union, NJ/Union [Penn State]) had six points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Griffin did her damage on 13-of-26 shooting and five of her nine rebounds came on the offensive glass. She also made three steals. Adreana Miller chipped in with 15 points and five rebounds, while Ashanti Freeland had eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Both teams came out ice cold from the floor in the first quarter, but La Salle used an 18-12 edge on the boards, including 11 on the offensive glass to take an 11-7 lead after one. The Hawks shot 18.2 percent (2-11), while the Explorers shot 16.7 percent (4-24) in the initial stanza. Monmouth's leading rebounder,
Christina Mitchell (Baltimore, MD/MATHS), picked up two fouls in just over the first four-plus minutes and took a seat for the remainder of the half.
The Hawks scored the first five points of the second quarter to take their only lead of the game. Olson knocked down a left wing three off a
Jasmine Walker (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) kick, before Bethune gave Monmouth the 12-11 lead with a driving floater in transition less than a minute into the period. Griffin then heated up for La Salle, scoring 11 points in the second period to finish with 17 for the half. She and McCall exchanged made buckets three times in a span of two and a half minutes, before Griffin one-upped her competition with a fourth short jumper in the paint at the 4;15 mark. La Salle rebuilt a six-point cushion, before a Carbone three and two McCall free throws again cut the deficit to one, 25-24 with 2:24 left in the half. La Salle outscored Monmouth, 5-2 the rest of the period to take a 30-26 lead into the break.
Griffin led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting in the first half. McCall countered with nine, all in the second quarter for Monmouth. La Salle turned 17 Monmouth turnovers into an 18-3 discrepancy in points off turnovers in the first half.
A Purvis three to open the third cut the deficit to one, but the Explorers again kept Monmouth at arm's reach, extending to a six-point lead, 43-37, on a long Griffin three to end the period. A transition lay-up from Bethune to open the fourth cut the deficit to 43-39, but the Explorers would score the next eight points to extend their lead to double-digits. The closest the Hawks would get the rest of the way was to within nine on a Purvis three at the 3:52 mark. But La Salle scored the next five points and its lead swelled to as many as 18 in the final minute.
For the game, Monmouth outshot La Salle, 35.3 percent (18-51) to 32.9 percent (23-70) from the floor and 66.7 percent (8-12) to 62.5 percent (10-16) from the free-throw line, but La Salle made the Hawks pay for their 26 turnovers, outscoring Monmouth, 30-13 off miscues. The Explorers also enjoyed a 49-37 edge on the glass and a 16-8 advantage in second-chance points. La Salle shot 47.4 percent (9-19) from long range to the Hawks' 33.3 percent (6-18).
The Hawks return to league action Saturday, when they play host to defending champion Quinnipiac. Tip-off from the MAC is scheduled for 2 p.m.
