Canisius Golden Griffins (6-12, 4-3 MAAC) – 61
Monmouth Hawks (6-11, 2-4 MAAC) - 67
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ  – Despite trailing by nine in the third quarter, the Monmouth University women's basketball team mounted a second half comeback to defeat Canisius on Thursday night, 67-61. Junior Sierra Green led the charge with 22 points in the win, including 13 in the third quarter turnaround on three triples. Monmouth forced a season-high 29 turnovers and scored 37 points off Canisius giveaways. Junior Emani Clough added 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and was a team-best +18. Junior Rosa Graham added 11 points in the win, hitting two clutch free throws to put Monmouth up four with 29 seconds left. Junior Taylor Nason tied a career-high with six steals while also contributing five points and four rebounds. The Hawks snap a four-game losing skid, improving to 6-11 (2-4 MAAC) on the season. The Blue & White will look to keep things rolling when they host Niagara on Saturday afternoon.
 
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
"We've been on a little losing streak here, and we were really trying to break that. At this point in the season, this win is as big as it gets. We really needed this one, especially against a quality opponent. It was nice to see us sustain a 40-minute effort. We've talked about playing hard, playing smart, and playing together, and it was a fun thing to see." -  Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-Canisius jumped out to a 9-1 early lead, as the Hawks opened 0-7 from the floor.
-Monmouth slowly battled back towards the end of the first, capped by a steal and buzzer-beating layup from junior Taylor Nason. At the end of one, Canisius led 15-10.
-The Hawks cut the deficit to just two after back-to-back layups from Clough and Graham. With 4:33 left, it was 20-18.
-Graham and Green buried three-pointers in the last minute of the second quarter. Outscoring Canisius 18-11 in the frame, Monmouth took a 28-26 lead into halftime.
-The Golden Griffins scored the first 11 points of the third quarter, and led 37-28 after the big run.
-Monmouth answered with a 12-2 run, and went ahead 40-39 late in the third.
-After the big quarter from Green, Monmouth took a 50-47 lead into the fourth.
-A couple of baskets for Canisius put them ahead, but Green hit a deep two with 5:06 left in the game as Monmouth regained the lead at 56-55.
-Canisius buried a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to cut the deficit to two. The Hawks hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Green scored in double figures for the 14^th time in 17 games. She leads the team with 15.4 points per game and leads the MAAC with 61 three-pointers made.
-Nason registered five steals in the first half alone. The Hawks had a 22-6 advantage in points off turnovers in that span.
-Clough scored in double figures for the sixth time this year (first in eight games).
-Graham scored in double figures for the second time this year, and 16^th time of her career. She also notched four steals, upping her team lead to 41.
-Coming off a double-double in her last outing, junior Alexa Middleton added eight points and eight rebounds.
-There were nine lead changes in the contest, and the game was tied three separate times.
-The Hawks overcame a solid shooting night for Canisius, as the Golden Griffins went 23-52 (44.2%) from the floor.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will play their third straight home game when they face Niagara on Saturday afternoon. Monmouth holds the slight 6-5 all-time series lead. Last season the teams split, including Monmouth earning a 65-63 win at the OceanFirst Bank Center.