2022-23 Monmouth Women's Basketball Game Six Preview
                                                                                       
Monmouth Hawks (3-2, 0-0 CAA) at Brown Bears (3-2, 0-0 Ivy)
Friday, November 25, 2022 - 2:00 p.m.
Pizzitola Sports Center, Providence, RI
 
TV
ESPN+

Opening Tip
• Monmouth wraps up its current four-game road trip with today's contest. It is also the first of two contests for the Hawks against an Ivy League foe (Dartmouth - Dec. 10).
• This is just the second meeting all-time and first since 2010 for MU against the Bears.
• MU dished out a season-high 22 assists against Navy on Tuesday. Seven Hawks had at least one assist in the game.
• Belle Kranbuhl became the 7th player in program history to reach the 100 career block plateau with her first quarter rejection. She finished with a season-best three in the game.
• Monmouth has shot 50% or better from the field in each of its last three contests.
• The Hawks have been all about the quick starts of late. After scoring 19 points in the first period at Loyola, MU exploded for 24 points in the first period at Navy.
• Monmouth knocked down a season-high 11 three-pointers at Navy. It was their most three-pointers in a game since the 2019-20 season.
• Ariana Vanderhoop returned to the rotation after missing three games and connected on the first three shots she took.
• Monmouth is embarking on its first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
• Five Hawks played locally in the Shore Conference prior to MU (Louro, Marsicano, Panayides, Richardson, Thomas)
• Following the game with Brown, the Hawks return home for the first time since Nov. 10 (NJIT - Nov. 27).
 

LENDING A HELPING HAND
Sharing the basketball was the name of the game on Tuesday in the win over Navy. MU dished out a season-high 22 assists as seven Hawks recorded at least one assist in the game. It was the most helpers since they had 22 against Niagara in February of last year. Bri Tinsley had a career-high eight assists against Navy while Anaya Coleman added a season-high six.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
Belle Kranbuhl recorded the 100th block of her Hawk career in the first quarter of the win over Navy. She is the seventh player in program history to reach the milestone and first since Alexa Middleton (2016-20). She needs 25 more blocks to move into the top five for career blocks at Monmouth.

FROM DEEP 
MU knocked down a season-high 11 three-pointers in the win over Navy. It was the most triples in a game by a Hawk squad since the 2019-20 season. Five Hawks hit at least one three-pointer in the game and that group was led by Kaci Donovan and Ariana Vanderhoop, who had three triples each.

SHARP SHOOTERS
Monmouth has shot the ball extremely well in it's last three games. The Hawks have shot 50% or better from the field in each of the last three contests, including a season-best 54.7% against Navy. The Hawks have raised their season field goal percentage to 44.9%, which ranks second in the CAA entering the weekend's action. Lucy Thomas leads the Hawks with a 58.5% field goal percentage on the season.

WELCOME BACK ARIANA
After missing the last three games, Ariana Vanderhoop returned to the MU rotation at Navy. The junior knocked down the first three chances she had and finished the game shooting 3-for-4 from the floor in 13 minutes of action. 

SEEING DOUBLE
Monmouth continues to prove when you share the basketball, success will follow. The Hawks had 10 of 11 players score at least one point in the win over Navy and three of those players all scored in double figures. Kaci Donovan (17 pts.) and Belle Kranbuhl (10 pts.) each tallied a season-high in points in the win over the Midshipmen while Bri Tinsley (14 pts.) scored in double figures for the third time this season. Monmouth is now 2-0 on the year when at least three players score in double figures in a game.

OFF TO THE RACES
Monmouth has made it a point to get off to a quick start this season. The Hawks have scored 20 or more points in first quarter in two of its three wins this season. MU scored 24 points in the first 10 minutes against Navy on Tuesday night. That scoring spurt was highlighted by a 15-0 run at one points and that run was eventually extended to 21-1 in a stretch that covered nearly five minutes. 

REACHING 60 POINTS
The Monmouth women's basketball team has found plenty of success when it scores at least 60 points in a game. The Hawks moved to 3-0 on the year when it hits the 60-point plateau.

MU scored at least 60 points on 17 occasions last season. When reaching the 60-point mark, the Hawks were 10-7. The last time a Monmouth team recorded double-digit games with 60 or more points scored was during the 2018-19 campaign. That year, the Hawks reached 60 points in 14 of their 31 games and finished with a 10-4 record in those contests.   

TAKING CONTROL
The Monmouth duo of Bri Tinsley and Anaya Coleman have given head coach Ginny Boggess multiple options at the point. Tinsley enters play this weekend averaging 4.4 assists per game while Coleman is handing out 4.0 helpers per game. The Hawks are one of three CAA teams to have at least two players averaging four or more assists per game. 

NOT ON MY WATCH
The Hawks have stepped up their defense under the basket in the last three games. MU has recorded at least four blocks in each of those games. That effort has been led by Lovin Marsicano and Belle Kranbuhl, who each rank in the top 10 in the CAA for blocks per game. Marsicano and Kranbuhl are each averaging 1.2 blocks per game.

GOING DEEP
Jen Louro has proven to be a threat from behind the arc during her Hawks career. She is 16th in career threes, three shy of Liz Whalen in 15th, and 14th in 3PT attempts, 56 away from Gabby Singer up next.

NEW STAFF ADDITIONS
Head Coach Ginny Boggess has added three new coaching staff members to her bench this season, with Camden Boehner, Torrie Cash and Matt Gross coming aboard in West Long Branch. Boehner comes on as an assistant coach after spending last season at IUP following a playing career at West Chester where she was an All-PSAC selection. Torrie Cash joins the staff as the Director of Program Operations after two seasons on the bench at Coastal Carolina. Rounding out the coaching staff additions for Boggess is Director of Basketball Operations Matt Gross, a May graduate of Penn State where he was a student manager with the Nittany Lions.

IN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
It took just 16 games for Monmouth head women's basketball coach Ginny Boggess to reach double-digit wins in her first season. She became the second-fastest head coach to accomplish that feat in his or her inaugural season at the helm of the program. Mickey McGlade (15 games – 1984-85) is the only coach that ranks ahead of Boggess, accomplishing the feat in her first 15 games.  

SHORE CONFERENCE TIES
Monmouth's roster is made up of five players who called the nearby Shore Conference home prior to college. Grad students Lucy Thomas, Jen Louro and Lovin Marsicano all played at St. Rose, while Kayla Richardson competed at Middletown South and Antonia Panayides at Red Bank Catholic.

POINT GUARD
Ginny Boggess has had a veteran transfer lead the way in each of her first two seasons, beginning last year with Northeastern transfer Stella Clark leading the Hawks in scoring and earning a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team. This year, she will turn to Virginia and James Madison transfer Bri Tinsley, who has a whopping 114 collegiate games under her belt coming into the year. A Preseason All-CAA selection last year while at JMU, Tinsley has three career 19-point games, and is an 81.9% free throw shooter while in college.

MOVING TO THE CAA
Last January, Monmouth University announced a department-wide move to the Colonial Athletic Association. Monmouth Women's Basketball is set to play in its first season in the CAA, with MU's fall sports already finding success in its new home with CAA regular season titles won by women's soccer and field hockey.

NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
Coach Boggess has challenged her team this season, bookended with a Big East foe in St. John's and a 26-win, NCAA Tournament qualifying BYU squad in December. The Hawks will also play several competitive mid-majors and seven road games in the non-league.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Winner of three straight games, Brown enters the game with a 3-2 mark on the year. The Bears beat UMass Lowell, 67-56 last time out. Kyla Jones is averaging a team-best 23 points per game while Gianna Aiello leads the Bears on the boards while pulling down 9.6 per game.

UP NEXT
Monmouth returns home for the first time since Nov. 10 when it hosts NJIT on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 3 p.m. The game will be available on FloSports.