#5 Canisius Golden Griffins (11-19) – 53
#4 Monmouth Hawks (14-16) – 64
 
ALBANY, NY – Outscoring the Golden Griffins 20-9 in the fourth quarter, the Monmouth University women's basketball team outlasted Canisius to advance to its first MAAC semifinal since 2015-16. The game was tied at 44 heading into the final frame, and the Hawks went 10-14 from the free throw line en route to a 12-2 run to close the game. Monmouth held a 28-2 advantage in second chance points, thanks in large part to 19 offensive rebounds. Freshman Lucy Thomas led to Hawks with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, while junior Alexa Middleton registered her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior McKinzee Barker went into double-figures with 11 points, including back-to-back layups in the fourth to spark the run. Monmouth advances to a conference semifinal for the second time in the last seven years. The Hawks will face No. 1 seed Quinnipiac (18-0 MAAC) tomorrow at 11:00 AM in the Times Union Center.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
"It was a battle for 40 minutes, which we knew it would be. Canisius is an outstanding team. We talked about picking up our defensive efficiency and minimizing the mistakes. We wanted to limit them to one shot, get the rebound, and take care of the ball at the other end. We stepped it up in the fourth quarter, especially on the defensive end. It was a beautiful thing to see when we played together. When we're able to dig in on the defensive end, we're a pretty tough team to beat." - Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-Thomas scored Monmouth's first five points, tying the game with 5:52 left in the first quarter.
-Canisius used a 6-0 run to go ahead 11-5, but another Thomas and-one and a Middleton bucket quickly cut the deficit to 11-9. A Middleton free throw made it 11-10 Canisius at the end of one.
-Monmouth took its first lead of the game with another Thomas bucket to open the second quarter.
-The Hawks led by as many as five with 3:18 left in the second, but Canisius made six straight free throws to close the frame. At halftime, the Golden Griffins led 26-24.
-Junior Sierra Green hit Monmouth's first triple with 5:44 left in the third quarter. The bucket made it 32-31 Canisius.
-After an even third that saw each team score 18 points, Middleton connected on a layup with 23 seconds left to tie the game at 44.
-Thomas' first triple of the game put Monmouth up 52-49 with seven minutes to go.
-A Canisius layup with 1:46 left made it a 56-53 Monmouth lead, but the Hawks quickly answered with two big buckets from Barker. The latter came off a Rosa Graham steal and dish for the wide-open layup. With 56 seconds remaining, Monmouth led 60-53.
-A couple of late free throws sealed the win, as the Hawks eventually went on an 8-0 run to end the game for the 11-point win.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Thomas went into double-figures for the 15^th time this season.
-Middleton's double-double is the 11^th of her career.
-In her 96^th career start, Barker went into double-figures for the 22^nd time in her career.
-With one more three-pointer today, Green increased her program record to 97.
-Graham added seven points and four steals in the win.
-Monmouth shot 20-60 (33.3%), while Canisius shot 17-52 (32.7%).
-After leading the league in rebounds during the regular season, the Hawks grabbed 49 today.
-Monmouth held the Golden Griffins to just 3-16 in the fourth quarter, including 1-6 from long range.
-Canisius went 14-14 from the free throw line in the game.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will face No. 1 Quinnipiac tomorrow at 11:00 AM. The Bobcats have won 19 straight games, and 50 straight MAAC games dating back to 2016-17.