Box Score ALBANY, N.Y. – Helena Kurt (Spanga, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half as the ninth-seeded Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated No. 8 Canisius, 68-56, in the MAAC Championship First Round Thursday morning at the Times Union Center. With the win, the Hawks (13-17) move on to face top-seeded Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals tomorrow at noon. Canisius ends its season at 10-20.

Jasmine Walker (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) added her fifth-career double-double, her second of the season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while also securing three steals. She scored 12 of her points in the first half. Christina Mitchell (Baltimore, Md./MATHS) scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, while also finishing with five rebounds and three steals. Sarah Olson (Freehold, N.J./Howell [NJIT]) made three trifectas for nine points, while Jamiyah Bethune (Union, N.J./Union [Penn State]) also added seven points and three steals.

Kayla Hoohuli led Canisius with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-8 from long range. Crystal Porter added 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.   

“I thought the team played really well today,” said Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer. “We stuck with our game plan. I thought we executed it almost perfectly. We changed a couple things for this game from the first two times we played them. They were minor adjustments, but our execution of those things were what really helped us pull this out. Overall, we had some great individual performances. I can't say enough about Helena, Jas Walker and Chris Mitchell. I think they all brought something slightly different at certain times that were critical for us.”

After the teams exchanged the first two buckets, Canisius surged ahead, 8-2, on an Emily Weber three less than two minutes in. Monmouth countered with nine-straight points as part of a 13-2 run to establish a 15-10 lead. Walker scored four points in the spurt. The lead extended to 21-15 on another Walker floater at the 7:28 mark, but Canisius called timeout and righted the ship. The Golden Griffins went on a 9-0 run to take a 24-21 lead before Walker scored on an inbounds play with 1:51 left to cut the deficit to 24-23 at the half.

Walker led all scorers and rebounders with 12 points and six rebounds at the half. She did her damage on 6-of-10 shooting. Weber led the Griffs with six points and four rebounds.

After a back-and-forth beginning of the second half, Kurt sparked a 13-1 Monmouth run and the Hawks never trailed again. Walker connected on a lay-up, as did Mitchell, before Kurt and Olson capped the run with three-pointers.

Canisius drew to within five on a Hoohuli three-pointer with 7:19 remaining, but it was as close as the Golden Griffs would get. The Hawks scored the next six points on an Olson three and a conventional three-point play by Mitchell, pushing the Monmouth lead into double digits for the remainder of the game. The lead would swell to as many as 18 points on a Mitchell lay-up at the 2:39 mark and two Kurt free throws with 1:34 remaining before Canisius scored the game's final six points.

Monmouth outshot Canisius, 45.5 percent (25-55) to 36.7 percent (22-60) from the floor and 85.7 percent (12-14) to 63.6 percent (7-11) from the free-throw line. Canisius took a 26.3 percent (5-19) to 25.0 percent (6-24) edge from long range. Monmouth outrebounded the Griffs, 38-34. The Hawks led for more than 30 minutes of regulation.  
The Hawks advance to face Quinnipiac, which ran the table to a 20-0 record against MAAC competition this season. The Bobcats handed Monmouth losses of 41 and 39 points in the regular season, including an 87-48 decision this past Sunday at the MAC.  

“That's a huge challenge,” said Palmateer. “We know how dangerous [Quinnipiac] is. They go 10 deep and have so many weapons. They're playing probably their best basketball right now and we have our hands full. But when you're playing in a tournament like this, if somehow you can make it to that last day, you've got to play everybody anyway.”