Monmouth Hawks (7-19, 4-13 MAAC) – 53
Canisius Golden Griffins (4-21, 3-13 MAAC) – 54
 
BUFFALO, NY – A contested jumper with five seconds left sent Canisius over the Monmouth University women's basketball team on Saturday, 54-53.
 
Sophomore Alexa Wallace (Wheatley Heights, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) connected on a running layup to give Monmouth a one-point lead with 26 seconds left, but the Golden Griffins answered with time running out.
 
The Hawks lose by one point for the third consecutive game.
 
Senior Sierra Green (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis/Monroe CC) scored a season-high 20 points in the loss, netting four three-pointers.
 
Senior Akilah Jennings (San Jose, CA/Presentation/UC Santa Barbara) added 12 points and four rebounds.
 
Senior Alexa Middleton (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) narrowly missed her third straight double-double, registering 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
Monmouth falls to 7-19 (4-13 MAAC) on the season, and will host Siena on Thursday.   
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"We need to come out from the start with the same focus and intensity we show at the end of games. We can't let other teams get comfortable before we decide to play. It's tough to keep coming back from double-digit deficits, especially this late in the season. We also need to quit leaving so many points on the board with missed free throws." - Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-After Monmouth tied the game at 4-4, Canisius went on a 9-0 run.
-Canisius eventually took a 13-7 lead after one quarter, holding the Hawks to 3-17 from the floor.
-The Hawks found a rhythm in the middle of the second, making 4-of-5 shots to cut the deficit to 19-16.
-Back-to-back triples from Green tied the game at 24-24. Two free throws with three seconds remaining gave Canisius the slight 28-26 lead at halftime.
-The Golden Griffins outscored Monmouth 14-4 in the first 5:33 of the third quarter, including a 7-0 run.
-Monmouth answered with a 9-2 run, including two more Green triples. At the end of the third quarter, Canisius led 44-39.
-Early in the fourth, the Hawks used a 6-0 run to take the lead at 47-46. Green, Jennings, and Middleton made consecutive layups.   
-In all, Monmouth used a 14-2 run from the end of the third to the beginning of the fourth to take the lead.
-Jennings tied the game at 50-50 on a free throw with 1:53 remaining.
-The teams traded leads in the final minute, including a layup from Wallace with 26 seconds left. With the shot clock running down, Canisius connected on a jumper with five seconds left to make it 54-53.
-On the final possession, Green gathered a loose ball and hoisted a three that was just off the mark.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Green flew up to fourth all-time for career three-pointers. In just 57 games, she has 156 made triples.
-Middleton is up to 866 career rebounds, which ranks 2^nd all-time. In 17 MAAC games, Middleton is averaging 11.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.
-Jennings scored in double-figures for the 10^th time this season.
-Monmouth won the rebounding battle 45-29.
-Senior Taylor Nason earned her 39^th career start and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth returns home to face Siena on Thursday. The Saints hold a 12-10 all-time series lead, including a 51-39 win in Loudonville earlier this season.