FINAL SCORE
Monmouth 68 (5-4)
Lafayette 47 (4-6)

EASTON, Pa. – The Monmouth University women's basketball team sprinted out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter and held the lead for a 68-47 win at Lafayette College on Monday night. The Hawks recorded their third straight win as they wrapped up a three-game road swing. 
 
The Hawks sprinted out to a 15-0 lead with 5:20 left in the first quarter. Six different Hawks all made a basket during that stretch. Monmouth pushed its lead to 18-4 on a Rosalie Mercille triple at 2:14 before settling for the 18-6 lead after one. 
 
Five points from Ariana Vanderhoop to start the second quarter extended the Monmouth advantage to 23-9 with 8:38 left until the break. Lafayette cut the Hawks' lead to eight, 25-17 with a three-point play from Kayla Drummond at 5:43. 
 
Monmouth responded with a 13-2 run to close the period and took a 38-19 lead at the break. Kaci Donovan had five points in that stretch while Jania Hall and Sandrine Clesca each drained threes.
 
The Hawks scored six of the first eight points in the third quarter and took their largest lead of the game, 44-21 with 7:48 left in the period. Donovan had four of the six. Lafayette cut the lead to 11 before the Hawks pushed it back to 16 points, 54-38 after three. 
 
Monmouth maintained a lead between 13 and 21 points throughout the fourth quarter and claimed the 68-47 win.

NOTES & QUOTES
"Tonight all started on the defensive end. I am really proud of the defensive effort and especially our growth in communication versus a very skilled, tough team. We will dial it back for a few days so the squad can focus on preparing for finals."
    - Head coach Ginny Boggess

- Monmouth picked up its second straight win over a Patriot League team (American, Lafayette) and improved to 6-3 all-time against the Leopards.  
- It's the second time this season and ninth time under head coach Ginny Boggess that the Hawks have held an opponent to under 50 points in a game.
- Kaci Donovan finished with a game-high 17 points and now has scored in double figures in three of the last four games and six times this season. 
- Ariana Vanderhoop returned to the lineup after missing two-games and contributed 13 points. 
- Sandrine Clesca finished with a career-high 14 points. 
- The Hawks hit 11 three-pointers in the contest, one off their season-high. Vanderhoop and Donovan each connected on three shots from behind the arc for the Hawks. 

NUMBERS CRUNCH
- Monmouth shot 48% from the field in the game. The Hawks posted a field goal percentage of 50% or better in two of the four quarters, including an impressive 63.6% from the field in the first quarter. 
- Monmouth hit 11 three-pointers in the contest to Lafayette's five.
- The Hawks won the rebounding battle 34-19. Monmouth improves to 4-0 on the year when it wins the rebounding battle by a +10 margin. 
- Monmouth had 16 assists in the contest, as Sandrine Clesca had a game-high four. Monmouth is 4-0 on the season when it records double digit assists in a game. 
- The Hawks continue to take advantage of their offensive rebounds as Monmouth turned 12 offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points. 
- In all five of the Hawks' wins this season they have scored at least 60 points. 
 
NEXT UP
Monmouth takes a break for finals and returns to action on Friday, Dec. 22 when it hosts Loyola (Md.) at 2 p.m.