Drexel Dragons (2-0, 0-0 CAA) – 61
Monmouth Hawks (0-3, 0-0 MAAC) - 50
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Getting 48 combined points from three scorers, Drexel outlasted the Monmouth University women's basketball team on Saturday, 61-50.
 
Trailing by as many as 15, the Hawks battled back to tie the game at 33 midway through the third quarter. Monmouth used an 11-0 run to lock it up, including seven straight points from redshirt junior Jen Louro (Wall, NJ/St. Rose).
 
Louro led the Hawks with 15 points, drilling three triples in addition to six rebounds.
 
Freshman Jania Hall (Gaithersburg, MD/St. Vincent Pallotti) went into double-figures for the first time in her career, adding 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 35 minutes.
 
Freshman Belle Kranbuhl (Boonville, NY/Adirondack Central) registered a season-high eight points, shooting 4-of-9 from the floor with four rebounds.
 
Monmouth falls to 0-3 on the season, and will host Iona on Friday, December 11 for the MAAC opener.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"Today was a more competitive effort on both ends of the floor. We showed a lot of fight from being down at half to tie the game. Their consistency on offense was the difference. We had too many lapses in our scoring to keep pace." – Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-Monmouth took an early 5-4 lead after a Louro runner in the lane, but Drexel answered with a 6-0 run to close the first quarter, taking a 10-5 advantage.
-The Hawks got within two early in the second quarter after layups from freshman Gabrielle Wener and Hall. The Dragons battled back with a 10-0 run.  
-With 10 seconds left in the first half, sophomore Destiny Jackson found Louro for a wing triple. The Dragons raced down the floor and connected on a layup at the buzzer. At halftime, Drexel led 30-18.
-Monmouth rattled off a 11-0 run in the third quarter to tie the game at 33-33. Louro scored seven straight points in the outburst, including a three-pointer.
-Drexel ended the quarter on a 10-2 run. The Hawks still outscored Drexel 17-13 in the third frame and trailed 43-35 heading into the fourth.
-Monmouth got within six with 5:00 to play, led by back-to-back triples from Hall. The Dragons answered with a 6-0 run to pull away.
-The Dragons shot 8-14 (57.1%) in the fourth quarter to seal the 11-point victory.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Louro now leads the team with 9.7 points per game and five three-pointers. She went into double-figures for the eighth time in her career, and notched her most points since dropping 24 against Purdue Ft. Wayne last season.
-In just her third career game, Hall compiled 13 points on 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep. She also went 3-of-4 at the free throw line.  
-Starting for the third straight contest, Kranbuhl played 27 minutes.  
-Jackson played a career-high 37 minutes, finishing with five points, three assists, and three steals.
-Monmouth's bench held a 30-11 advantage.
-Senior Hannah Nihill (18 points), junior Kate Connolly (16 points), and junior Keishana Washington (14 points) led the way for the Dragons.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will host Iona on Friday, December 11 for the MAAC opener. Tip from the OceanFirst Bank Center is set for 5:00 PM. Each team has won 11 games in the all-time series. In the MAAC Tournament First Round last season, the #10 Hawks earned a 69-60 win over the #7 Gaels.