2022-23 Monmouth Women's Basketball Game Two Preview

Monmouth Hawks (0-1, 0-0 CAA) vs NJCU Gothic Knights (0-0, 0-0 NJAC)
Thursday, November 10, 2022 - 7 p.m.
OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, NJ

TV
FloSports
Andrew Bern (Play-By-Play)
Renee Washington (Analyst)

OPENING TIP
• Thursday's matchup marks the home opening game of the 2022-23 season for Monmouth.
• Monmouth is taking on NJCU for the first time ever.
• The Hawks are looking to win their home opener for the second consecutive season.
• The last time Monmouth won its home opener in back-to-back years was the start of the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
• Last season, Monmouth went 8-6 at the OceanFirst Bank Center, including back-to-back wins to start the year. 
• Five Hawks made their Monmouth debuts at St. John's. Graduate transfers Lovin Marsicano and Bri Tinsley as well as freshmen Ella Farrelly, Anaya Coleman and Amiya Carroll.
• Monmouth is embarking on its first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
• MU returns eight letter winners from a season ago.
• There are five graduate students on the MU roster, including Jen Louro and Lucy Thomas as well as Marsicano and Tinsley.
• Monmouth graduated its leading scorer from last season, Stella Clark, who averaged 12ppg and was a Second Team All-MAAC selection.
• Five Hawks played locally in the Shore Conference prior to MU (Louro, Marsicano, Panayides, Richardson, Thomas)
• Kaci Donovan is Monmouth's leading returning scorer (8.3ppg).
• Seven of eight of Monmouth's top scorers from last season are back this year.
• The Hawks are opening the season with five of six on the road. 

WHAT'S RETURNING
Monmouth returns seven of its top eight scorers from a season ago and eight overall letterwinners, including top returning scorer Kaci Donovan. Monmouth brings back 71.6% of its total points from a season ago (1,271 of 1,776) and 119 total starts.

WHAT WAS LOST
Monmouth has six players that will not return from a season ago, most notably leading scorer Stella Clark, who averaged 12 points per game and was tops on the team in assists (123), steals (47) and second in rebounding. Overall, MU will be without 28.4% of its scoring from a year ago (505 of 1,776 points).

TRANSFERRING IN
Head Coach Ginny Boggess has bolstered the roster with the addition of two impact transfers, both of whom will complete their final season of eligibility this year. Point guard Bri Tinsley joins the Hawks after stops at Virginia and James Madison, where she has picked up 114 games and 78 starts worth of collegiate experience. Joining her is local product Lovin Marsicano, a Manasquan native who played four seasons at Saint Joseph's, where she appeared in 82 games and made 21 starts. Marsicano led Monmouth in minutes played (29) and assists at St. John's, while Tinsley started at point guard and had seven points and two assists in 28 minutes. 

FRESHMEN CLASS
Three freshmen make up this season's class, with guards Anaya Coleman and Amiya  Carroll and forward Ella Farrelly. All three made their collegiate debuts on Monday against St. John's with each scoring their first career points. 

HAWKS AND THE GOTHIC KNIGHTS
Monmouth and New Jersey City University are meeting for the first time ever on Thursday night.  

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, where she was a two-year contributor with the Chanticleers. 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.

RECORD BOOK WATCH
The Hawks have a few players poised to make moves up the career record books this season, led by center Belle Kranbuhl. She currently ranks eighth all-time in blocks, and is one shy of tying Cindy Hook for seventh and five away from Alexa Middleton in sixth. Jen Louro is 16th in career threes, three shy of Liz Whalen in 15th, and 14th in 3PT attempts, 61 away from Gabby Singer up next.

REACHING 60 POINTS
The Monmouth women's basketball team 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. The last Monmouth team to record over 60 points in 16 games was the 2016-17 squad that did on 22 occasions.  

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 his first 15 games.  

NON-CONFERENCE WINS
After topping St. Francis Brooklyn, 76-63, on Dec. 20, Monmouth finished its 2021-22 non-conference schedule with five wins. The five out-of-conference victories marked the most in a single season for the Hawks since claiming five in 2016-17. 

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.

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.

DONOVAN TO FACTOR
Leading returning scorer Kaci Donovan is back after scoring 8.3 points per game and grabbing 2.4 rebounds in her first season in West Long Branch. The Penn State transfer made 46 threes and netted 79 field goals in averaging 20 minutes per night. Donovan was the lone Hawk to score in double figures with 11 points at St. John's.

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.

TV DEAL
Monmouth recently announced a robust television package for women's basketball, with eight home games set to air on SportsNet New York (SNY). Of those eight, four will also air on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

VANDERHOOP'S STRONG END
Junior Ariana Vanderhoop closed her sophomore campaign strong, scoring in double-digits in half of Monmouth's games played after the New Year. She hit her career best of 12 points during that stretch twice, both against Iona and Niagara, in addition to a 3-3 night from three against Manhattan.

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 GOTHIC KNIGHTS
Monmouth's home opening opponent, New Jersey City University, returns 11 players from last year's roster. NJCU is led by 2022-23 Preseason D3Hoops.com All-America selection and two-time First Team All-NJAC honoree junior guard Damaris Rodriguez. The Gothic Knights were picked to win the NJAC after winning the conference last year.

UP NEXT
Monmouth returns to the road on Sunday, November 13 as it travels to Sacred Heart for the start of a four-game road swing. Opening tip is set for 4:00 p.m.