Siena Saints (8-9, 4-2 MAAC) – 77
Monmouth Hawks (5-11, 1-4 MAAC) - 68
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Outscoring the Hawks 20-12 in the final quarter, Siena sealed a win over the Monmouth University women's basketball team on Saturday, 77-68. The Saints went 23-of-35 from the free throw line in the contest, compared to Monmouth's 8-of-9. Junior
Sierra Green led the way once again, scoring 17 points on five three-pointers. Two different Hawks registered double-doubles in the loss, including freshman
Lucy Thomas with 11 points and 10 rebounds and junior
Alexa Middleton with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior
McKinzee Barker was the fourth player to score in double figures, adding 10 points and four assists in the game. All 11 Hawks that saw minutes scored at least two points. Monmouth falls to 5-11 (1-4 MAAC) on the season, and will look to snap its four-game losing skid against Canisius on Thursday.
NOTES AND QUOTES
"We're still missing shots that we need to make. I thought we battled overall, but at the same time we have to capitalize on the opportunities that were given to us. Defensively, we broke down too many times in the third quarter, giving them drives to the basket with no help. We didn't hold them to what we were hoping for, and 77 points is a little too much for us to match." -
Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
-The Hawks made six of their first 10 shots, and took a 13-8 lead at the first quarter media timeout.
-Monmouth's 8-0 run in the first quarter gave it an 18-8 advantage. By the end of the frame, the Hawks led 20-14.
-Siena used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to take a 30-26 lead.
-Monmouth took its first free throws of the game with 1:42 left in the second quarter. Freshman
Allure Simmons buried both to make it 30-28 Siena.
-The Saints had a 22-12 advantage in the second quarter, and took a 36-32 lead into halftime.
-Siena scored the first six points of the third on three layups to go ahead by 10. Monmouth later hit five of seven shots midway through the third quarter, including two triples from Green. With 3:52 left in the frame, the Hawks trailed by just one at 50-49.
-In a high-scoring third frame, Monmouth had a 24-21 advantage. Heading into the fourth, the Saints held on to a slight 57-56 lead.
-After Monmouth scored the first bucket of the fourth to take the lead, Siena went on a 9-0 run to go back ahead 66-58.
-The Saints went on a 6-0 run later in the fourth to seal the win.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Green scored in double figures for the 13
th time in 16 games. She leads the team with 15.0 points per game and leads the MAAC with 57 three-pointers made.
-Monmouth went 9-17 (53%) from the floor in the first quarter. Siena went just 3-9 from the free throw line in the opening frame.
-The Hawks came into the contest averaging 45.25 points per game in conference play, and scored 68 today.
-Middleton registered the fifth double-double of her career and first this season.
-Thomas registered her third double-double in just her 16
th career game.
-Siena went 25-54 (46.3%) from the floor. Monmouth shot 26-71 (36.6%).
-The Hawks had a 21-4 advantage off the bench.
-Monmouth outrebounded Siena 45-37.
-Siena's largest lead of the game was 12 points (Q4). Monmouth's largest lead was 10 points (Q1).
UP NEXT
The Hawks will host Canisius on Thursday at 7:00 PM. Monmouth and Canisius have each won six games in the all-time series. Last season in the first round of the MAAC Championships, the Hawks overcame a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter to down the Golden Griffins, 61-58.
