2022-23 Monmouth Women's Basketball Game Seven Preview
                                                                                       
Monmouth Hawks (3-3, 0-0 CAA) hosts NJIT Highlanders (4-2, 0-0 America East)
Sunday, November 27, 2022 - 3:00 p.m.
OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, NJ
 
TV
FloSports
Andrew Bern (Play-by-Play)
Maria Marino (Analyst)

Opening Tip
• Monmouth returns home for the first time since Nov. 10 today for an in-state rivalry battle with NJIT.
• This is the fourth meeting in the all-time series between MU and the Highlanders. The Hawks leads the series, 3-0.
• MU has nine wins in it's last 15 games at home under head coach Ginny Boggess.
• Kaci Donovan poured in a career-high 22 points on Friday at Brown. The junior guard had 11 points in each half to lead the way for the Hawks.
• Monmouth won the rebounding battle for the second straight game and the fourth time this season on Friday. The Hawks efforts were led by Belle Kranbuhl, who had a season-high 13 boards.
• The Hawks dished out 18 assists on Friday, it marked the fifth straight game that MU has handed out more assists than its opponents.
• MU relies on a balanced scoring attack as all 10 players who saw time in Friday's game scored at least two points.
• 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.
• 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 NJIT, the Hawks remain home and kick off the month of December by hosting St. Francis Brooklyn (Dec. 1)
 

BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
Monmouth outrebounded Brown, 37-35 on Friday afternoon. Eight of the ten Hawks who appeared in the game recorded at least two boards in the game. That group was led by Belle Kranbuhl, who had a season-high 13 rebounds in the contest. The Hawks are now 3-1 on the year when they win the rebounding battle.

"K"AREER-HIGH KACI
Kaci Donovan has had the hot hand for the Hawks in the last two games. Donovan poured a then season-high 17 points at Navy on Tuesday and followed it up with a career-high 22 points on Friday at Brown. Against the Bears, the guard scored 11 points in each half and finished the game having connected on a career-best eight field goals.

NOT ON MY WATCH
The Hawks have stepped up their defense under the basket in the several games. Monmouth is up to third in the CAA while averaging 3.5 blocks per game as a team. Those efforts have been led by Belle Kranbuhl and Lovin Marsicano, who both rank in the top 10 in the CAA for blocks per game. Kranbuhl, has at least two blocks in each of her last three games and ranks fourth in the league while averaging 1.5 blocks per game. Marsicano is contributing 1.0 blocks per game this season which is tied for 10th.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
The Hawks have shown a propensity for sharing the basketball throughout the early going. Monmouth dished out 18 assists on 27 made baskets at Brown on Friday. Ariana Vanderhoop led the way as she matched her career-high with five helpers.

On the season, the Hawks have handed out at least 15 assists in four straight games.  During that four game stretch, at least one MU player has had five or more assists in  a game. Bri Tinsley leads the way for MU as she is averaging 4.0 assists per game, which ranks tied for sixth in the CAA.

SHARP SHOOTING
Monmouth has shot the ball well from the floor of late. The Hawks have shot 40% or better from the floor in five straight games, including a stretch that saw them shoot 50% or better for three straight games (Sacred Heart, Loyola, Navy). MU enters play this weekend shooting 44.5% from the field which ranks second in the CAA. Five Hawks are shooting 40% or better from the field this season and that group is led by Lucy Thomas, who enters play today with a 57.9% field goal percentage. Thomas ranks third in the CAA in that category.

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.

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 are 3-1 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.    

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 HIGHLANDERS
NJIT comes into today's game with a 4-2 mark and off to its best start in 10 years. Aria Myers is averaging 13.8 points per game while Lyzi Litwinko is adding 11.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. 

UP NEXT
Monmouth remains home to host St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. That game will be available on FloSports.com