FINAL SCORE
Monmouth 74 (1-1)
St. John's 69 (1-1)
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The Monmouth University women's basketball team closed the game on a 17-1 run and rallied for a 74-69 comeback win over St. John's University in the home opener on Friday night.
The Hawks and Red Storm battled back and forth in the first period. Monmouth took an 8-3 lead at 6:56 as
Ariana Vanderhoop connected on a lay-up. St. John's scored nine of the next 11 points and grabbed a 12-10 lead with 4:23 on the clock. The Red Storm tallied the final seven points of the stanza and took a 21-16 lead after one.
Monmouth continued to battle in the second quarter, but St. John's maintained its advantage. The Red Storm lead fluctuated between six and 13 points over the 10-minute span. St. John's carried a 41-32 lead into the halftime break.
St. John's scored five of the first seven points in the third quarter and took its largest lead of the game, 46-32 with 8:57 remaining in the period. Three points apiece from
Taisha Exanor and
Kaci Donovan pulled the Hawks to within eight, 46-38 with 7:08 showing on the clock.
Monmouth cut the lead to eight several times before St. John's took a 60-50 lead after three.
St. John's scored six of the first nine points in the fourth quarter and led 66-54 lead with 8:28 to play. Five straight points from Exanor jump started what proved to be a decisive 17-1 run by the Hawks over the final 7:26 to secure the comeback win. Exanor scored 10 points during that run while her defensive efforts helped hold St. John's off the board for the 74-69 victory.
NOTES & QUOTES
"I was extremely proud of our grit down the stretch tonight. We executed defensively at a very high level in the fourth quarter. We finally started finding our rhythm on offense a little and moved the ball well in the second half. I hope to build on that moving forward. This was a great team win in front of an electric crowd."
- Head coach
Ginny Boggess
- Monmouth secured its first win in seven tries over St. John's. Last year when the two sides met in the season opener, the Red Storm came away with a 39-point victory.
- It was the first time the Hawks have beaten a Big East opponent since Monmouth earned a 49-48 win over Villanova in the 2011-12 season.
- Prior to the start of the game, the Hawks unveiled the banner to celebrate their 2023 CAA Championship and NCAA Tournament. Last year's alums (
Lovin Marsicano,
Jen Louro,
Lucy Thomas and
Bri Tinsley) were on hand to help reveal the banner as the team received its rings in a ceremony earlier in the afternoon.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
- Monmouth finished the game shooting 50% from the field and a solid 61.5% in the fourth quarter. St. John's shot 43.8% from the field but just 26.7% in the fourth quarter.
- Monmouth won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Red Storm 39-31.
- Five Hawks scored in double figures in the game. That group was led by
Jaye Haynes, who had a season-high 15 points while
Taisha Exanor and
Kaci Donovan had 14 points apiece.
Ariana Vanderhoop had 11 points while
Jania Hall added 10 points.
-
Taisha Exanor and
Belle Kranbuhl proved to be a menace in the lane as they combined for eight blocks in the game. Exanor's five rejections were a career-high while Kranbuhl added three and now has seven in her first two games combined.
- Monmouth scored 17 points on 12 St. John's turnovers.
The Hawks got 29 points from their bench in the game.
-
Taisha Exanor scored all 14 points of her points in the second half while
Jaye Haynes scored 12 of her team-high 15 points after the break.
NEXT UP
Monmouth is back in action when it hosts Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in the OceanFirst Bank Center.
