Providence Friars (4-0, 0-0 Big East) – 68
Monmouth Hawks (0-2, 0-0 MAAC) – 52
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Shooting 46% from the floor and making 15 free throws, Providence defeated the Monmouth University women's basketball team on Wednesday, 68-52.
 
The Friars outscored the Hawks 52-35 through the first three quarters, sealing the win despite a strong fourth quarter from Monmouth.
 
Senior Akilah Jennings (San Jose, CA/Presentation/UC Santa Barbara) scored 11 points and added a career-high four steals in the loss. Senior Sierra Green (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis/Monroe CC) registered 11 points on another three triples. Redshirt sophomore Jen Louro (Wall, NJ/St. Rose/UMass Lowell) scored nine points (3-6 FG) in her second game at Monmouth.
 
Monmouth drops to 0-2 on the season, and will travel to Princeton on Sunday for an afternoon non-conference matchup.  
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"Our quality of shots most of the time was good. The disappointing part is we just couldn't buy a basket. We're just going to have to make shots. I believe that they will eventually start going down. We put ourselves in a position to win this game, but we have to keep improving on our defense and shooting." - Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-Monmouth jumped out to an 7-3 lead, including a three-pointer from Green, but the Friars answered with an 9-0 run.  
-A late layup from Thomas made it an 18-11 Providence lead after the first quarter.
-The Friars scored the first five points of the second quarter, and the run was ended by a Zelaya layup.
-By halftime, Providence increased its lead to 36-23. Louro scored the last four points of the quarter for the Hawks.
-A strong start to the first half for Monmouth included two steals from Jennings and layups for Green and senior Taylor Nason. The 6-0 run made it 38-29 Providence.
-Providence answered with an 8-0 run, all from junior guard Kyra Spiwak, to go back ahead 46-29.
-The Friars led by as many as 19 in the third, but Jennings made a layup at the buzzer to cut it to 17.
-In the fourth, Monmouth cut the deficit to 15 with buckets from senior Alexa Middleton and Louro.
-Providence held on for the win despite Monmouth having a 17-16 advantage in the frame.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
 -Jennings went 5-12 from the floor with three assists.
-Green went into double-figures for the 24^th time in 33 games at Monmouth.
-Louro was a team best +3 with nine points in 14 minutes.
-Nason grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
-Sophomore Lucy Thomas grabbed seven rebounds in her first game of the season.
-Middleton ended with six points and four boards.
-Providence shot 45.8% from the floor compared to Monmouth's 36.7%.
-Monmouth had a 34-18 advantage for points in the paint.
-Monmouth held a 28-14 advantage for bench points.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will travel to Princeton on Sunday for an in-state matchup. Tip is scheduled for 1:00 PM.