Monmouth Hawks (4-9, 1-3 MAAC) – 38
Fairfield Stags (5-6, 2-0 MAAC) – 49
 
FAIRFIELD, CT – Shooting just 24.1% from the floor, the Monmouth University women's basketball team was defeated at Fairfield on Thursday morning, 49-38.
 
The Stags took the lead with 3:53 left in the first quarter and never looked back, forcing 17 Monmouth turnovers and getting 33 combined points from sophomore Lou Lopez-Senechal and redshirt junior Callie Cavanaugh.
 
Senior Akilah Jennings (San Jose, CA/Presentation/UC Santa Barbara) led the Hawks with 12 points, adding five rebounds in the loss.
 
Senior Alexa Middleton (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) narrowly missed another double-double, registering 10 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
Sophomore Lucy Thomas (Ocean, NJ/St. Rose) posted nine points and seven boards on the day.
 
Monmouth drops to 4-9 (1-3 MAAC) on the season, and will host Iona on Saturday.  
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"Defensively we met our goal, which usually gives us a good chance to win, but with such poor decision making on offense and our inability to make open shots, we have some real concerns to address before our next game." - Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-Monmouth went just 3-13 from the floor in the first quarter, and trailed 12-9 at the end of the frame. Jennings scored seven points to keep the Hawks within three.
-After Middleton made a layup to cut the deficit to four midway through the second quarter, Fairfield scored five quick points to go ahead 21-12.  
-For the second straight quarter, Monmouth shot 3-13 from the floor. Despite eight points from Middleton and seven points from Jennings, Fairfield led 27-18 at halftime.
-Thomas made a layup to begin the third, but the Stags answered with a 6-0 run to go up 33-20.
-An off-balance jumper and a triple from Jennings brought the Hawks within eight points with 4:42 left in the third.
-Fairfield ended the third quarter on an 11-4 run, and led 44-29 heading into the fourth. Through three quarters, Jennings (12), Thomas (9), and Middleton (8) had all of Monmouth's points.
-The Hawks were held without a point for 5:26 of the fourth quarter, and Fairfield eventually took the 11-point win.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Jennings scored in double-figures for seventh time this season, which ranks second on the team.
-The Hawks went 4-21 (19%) from three-point range.
-Monmouth won the rebounding battle, 45-39.
-Fairfield dished 15 assists compared to Monmouth's six.
-Middleton is averaging 13.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in conference play so far. She ranks 8^th all-time with 743 career rebounds. Middleton is the only Monmouth player to start all 13 games so far.
-In four conference games, Thomas is averaging 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds.
-Senior Rosa Graham's 238 career assists rank t-16^th all-time.  
-Senior Taylor Nason pulled down eight rebounds.
-Freshman Saule Kaupyte scored her first career points on a layup in the fourth quarter.  
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will return home to face Iona on Saturday. The Gaels have a slight 10-9 all-time series lead, including a 52-51 win in West Long Branch last season. Iona hit the game-winning shot with 2.2 seconds remaining.