#10 Monmouth Hawks (2-16) - 41
#7 Rider Broncs (7-17) - 44
 
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – In the first round of the 2021 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship, #7 Rider defeated the #10 Monmouth University women's basketball team, 44-41.
 
The Hawks trailed by as many as 10 in the third quarter, but battled back to take the lead with 1:17 left in the fourth. Two layups and three made free throws sealed the late win for the Broncs.
 
Monmouth dominated on the glass, eventually holding a 51-32 rebounding advantage. The Blue & White secured a season-high 29 offensive boards.
 
Freshman Belle Kranbuhl (Boonville, NY/Adirondack Central), who was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team on Monday, led Monmouth with 14 points (5-9 FG) to go along with nine rebounds. Kranbuhl notched 10 points in the fourth quarter alone, making all three field goal attempts and 4-of-5 free throws.
 
Freshman Jania Hall (Gaithersburg, MD/St. Vincent Pallotti) added seven points in the loss, while redshirt junior Jen Louro (Wall, NJ/St. Rose/UMass Lowell) and junior Lucy Thomas (Ocean, NJ/St. Rose) each posted six points.
 
Monmouth ends the season with a 2-16 record.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"When we prepared for this game, we talked about having focus, effort, and energy. We would live with the consequences if we gave those three. I was super proud of our effort, and felt the team gave everything they physically and mentally had. This season was an unprecedented one with COVID, and I thought we managed it as well as we could for a young team. At this point, it's going to be about the development of our players, both physically and mentally in the offseason. I feel we have the right pieces here and the future is bright with Monmouth Women's Basketball." - Monmouth Associate Head Coach James Young
 
-Monmouth jumped out to an 8-2 lead, making its first three field goal attempts. The Hawks held Rider to just 1-of-11 from the floor over the first 7:20.
-The Broncs hit a three-pointer with just over two minutes left. At the end of the first, Monmouth led 8-5.
-Rider took its first lead with 2:50 left in the second quarter, and increased it to five with a triple at the buzzer. At halftime, the Broncs led 20-15.
-After Hall hit a corner triple to cut the deficit to five, Rider answered with a 5-0 run to extend its lead to double digits.   
-Monmouth ended the third with a three-pointer from Thomas and two free throws from freshman Ariana Vanderhoop. Defensively, the Hawks held Rider without a point over the final 4:46. Heading into the fourth, the Broncs maintained a 30-25 advantage.
-Kranbuhl scored six straight points for Monmouth in the third quarter, including an and-one bucket, to make it 32-31.
-With 4:40 left, Thomas made a layup while getting fouled to give Monmouth a one-point lead.  
-Kranbuhl gave Monmouth the lead two more times late in the fourth, including once on a jumper and once with two free throws.
-With 54 seconds left, Louro made one of two free throws to tie the game at 40-40.
-Rider regained the lead with 37 seconds remaining on a driving layup. On the other end, Thomas hit one of two free throws.
-The Broncs extended their lead to three after making two free throws, and sealed the win with a stop on the last possession.  
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth's 51 rebounds were a season high.
-Kranbuhl went into double-figures for the sixth time this year, which ranks t-second on the team. She also posted a season-high four steals. The freshman ends the season averaging 7.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and a MAAC-leading 2.5 blocks per game.
-Vanderhoop pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.
-Monmouth went 8-of-12 from the free throw line, all in the second half.
-Thomas matched a season high with eight rebounds.
-The Hawks outscored Rider 34-29 in the first, third, and fourth quarters, but the Broncs won the second quarter 15-7.