Monmouth Hawks (5-10, 2-4 MAAC) – 81
Saint Peter's Peacocks (4-10, 1-4 MAAC) – 67
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Behind a season-high in points and field goal percentage, the Monmouth University women's basketball team defeated Saint Peter's on Tuesday, 81-67. The Hawks shot 47.7% (31-65), including 61.5% (16-26) in the second half.
 
After the Peacocks cut the deficit to seven with 4:32 left in the fourth, Monmouth answered with an 11-0 run to seal the win.
 
Sophomore Lucy Thomas (Ocean, NJ/St. Rose) compiled 19 points (9-14 FG) and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
 
Senior Sierra Green (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis/Monroe CC) dropped a season-high 19 points, going 5-12 from three-point range.
 
Senior Alexa Middleton (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) registered her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
 
Senior Akilah Jennings (San Jose, CA/Presentation/UC Santa Barbara) added a career-high 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the win.
 
Monmouth improves to 5-10 (2-4 MAAC) on the season, and will travel to Quinnipiac on Thursday morning.  
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"It was nice to have four players score in double-figures. To get to 81 points, when we haven't been scoring well, was exciting. I just thought we were more disciplined on offense and used what we had to our advantage. It's been a long stretch where we've been on the short end of it, and we absolutely needed this win. We knew we had it in us. Today was crucial, now we have to focus on Quinnipiac." - Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-An even first quarter ended in an 18-18 tie. Neither team led by more than three points in the frame, and Middleton registered six points and six rebounds for the Hawks.
-Back-to-back triples from Green gave Monmouth a 10-0 run and a 26-18 advantage with 6:53 left in the second quarter.
-Saint Peter's missed its first 10 shots of the second quarter, allowing Monmouth to go ahead 32-20.
-The Peacocks scored three points in the final 45 seconds, but the Hawks held on to an eight-point lead at halftime.
-The Hawks went 7-8 from the floor to open up the third quarter, using a 12-0 run to go ahead by 20 points.
-Sophomore Alexa Wallace connected on a buzzer-beating layup to close the third, and Monmouth took a 60-44 lead into the final frame.
-Saint Peter's opened up the fourth quarter with a 12-4 run, cutting the deficit to eight with 6:39 remaining.
-After the Peacocks cut the deficit to seven with 4:32 left, Monmouth's 11-0 run included five points from Jennings and a critical Thomas three-pointer.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-For the third time this season, Middleton and Thomas had a double-double in the same game.
-Monmouth's 26 points in the third were the most in any quarter this season.
-The Hawks dished a season-high 18 assists.
-Monmouth held a 33-17 rebounding advantage at halftime, and 50-33 in the game.
-Adding four more tonight, senior Rosa Graham's 242 career assists rank 16^th all-time. 
-Middleton moved into 7^th all-time with 766 career rebounds. She is the only Monmouth player to start all 15 games so far.
-Monmouth held a 46-26 advantage in the paint.
-In six conference games, Thomas is averaging 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Middleton is averaging 12.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will remain on the road to face Quinnipiac on Thursday. Tip is set for 11 AM.  The Bobcats hold a 29-17 all-time series lead, including a win in the MAAC Semifinals last season.