Manhattan Jaspers (7-6, 7-3 MAAC) – 49
Monmouth Hawks (0-6, 0-2 MAAC) - 48
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Redshirt junior Jen Louro's (Wall, NJ/St. Rose/UMass Lowell) potential game-winning contested shot rimmed out at the buzzer, as the shorthanded Monmouth University women's basketball team fell to Manhattan on Monday, 49-48.
 
The Hawks were left with just seven active players following a pregame injury, and took the lead over the preseason MAAC favorite four different times in the fourth quarter.
 
Louro led the team with 14 points on the night, including four three-pointers in a career-high 39 minutes.
 
Freshman Jania Hall (Gaithersburg, MD/St. Vincent Pallotti) added nine points in the loss, shooting 3-of-5 from the floor.
 
Junior Lucy Thomas (Ocean, NJ/St. Rose) also netted nine points, including three free throws to cut the deficit to one with 46 seconds remaining.
 
Sophomore Saule Kaupyte (Klaipeda, Lithuania/New York Military Academy) scored a career-high eight points, all coming in a span of 3:06 in the third quarter.
 
Freshman Belle Kranbuhl (Boonville, NY/Adirondack Central) grabbed 11 rebounds for the second consecutive game.
 
Monmouth falls to 0-6 (0-2 MAAC) on the season, and will host Niagara this weekend.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"I'm proud of our team tonight. We were super shorthanded and we really battled. I'm glad we are not okay with the moral victory. We needed to close that game. Being more disciplined will get us over that hump." – Monmouth head coach Jody Craig
 
-Louro got her first start of the season after a pregame injury to sophomore Destiny Jackson. The Hawks only had seven available players for the game.
-Monmouth led 5-4 at the first quarter media timeout, holding Manhattan to 2-of-9 from the floor and 0-of-3 from three.
-The teams were tied at 10-10 after the first quarter thanks to a late and-one finish from Kranbuhl.
-The Jaspers scored the first eight points of the second quarter to take the lead. Lucy Thomas stopped the run with a corner triple.  
-After a Hall triple, Manhattan answered with back-to-back makes from deep. At halftime, the Jaspers led 24-18.
-Louro buried two triples in the first three minutes of the second half. The long-range shots cut the deficit to 28-24.
-Kaupyte scored eight straight points for Monmouth in the third quarter. The latest, her first career three-pointer, tied the game at 32.
-A late jumper gave Manhattan a two-point lead heading into the final frame.
-Early in the fourth, Thomas drove to the rim and connected on a three-point play to give Monmouth the lead.
-Midway through the fourth, Hall buried a corner three-pointer to put Monmouth ahead once again.
-The teams went back and forth late in the game, with Louro hitting her fourth triple to give Monmouth a one-point lead with 2:36 left.
-Manhattan scored the next five points to regain the lead. After the teams traded jumpers, Thomas got fouled on a deep shot. She made all three free throws to make it 49-48.
-After the Hawks came up with a stop on the defensive end, Louro got a look over three Jaspers with time expiring, but the shot was just off the mark.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Louro has scored in double-figures three times this season, which ties Hall for the team lead. Louro leads the team with 10.3 points per game through six.
-Monmouth went 12-of-14 from the free throw line.
-Hall is shooting 51.4% (19-of-37) on the season.
-Along with her 11 rebounds, Kranbuhl blocked a season-high three shots.
-The Hawks drilled 8-of-15 three-point attempts.
-There were seven lead changes and seven ties in the contest.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth welcomes Niagara to the OceanFirst Bank Center on Saturday and Sunday. The Hawks hold a slight 8-7 lead in the all-time series. The Purple Eagles secured a one-point win and a three-point win last season.