2023-24 Monmouth Women's Basketball Game Eight Preview
                                                                                       
Monmouth Hawks (3-4) at American (2-5)
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 - 7:00 p.m.  
Bender Arena - Washington, D.C.

Watch
ESPN+

OPENING TIP
• Monmouth plays the middle game of a three-game road swing as it visits American.
• It's the start of three straight games for the Hawks against teams from the Patriot League (American, Lafayette, Loyola). The Hawks have 30 wins all-time against Patriot League opponents.
• Kaci Donovan knocked down a career-high seven three-pointers, including the 100th of her career at Rider.
• Donovan is the 15th player in program history to knock down 100 or more threes in her career.
• MU hit 12 three-pointers at Rider. It was the most triples in a game by a Hawks' squad since 2019-20.
• Monmouth had a season-high 18 assists at Rider. Belle Kranbuhl led that group with a career-high six assists in teh game.
• Monmouth held Rider to just 42 points on Saturday afternoon. It was the second lowest point total allowed by the Hawks under head coach Ginny Boggess.
• Taisha Exanor had a career-high 15 points for the Hawks against Rider.
• Monmouth finished with 44 rebounds in the win over Rider. The Hawks improved to 2-1 on the year when they grab 40 or more rebounds in a game.
• 60 is the magic number for the Hawks this season. Monmouth is 3-0 when scoring 60 or more points in a game and 0-4 when being held to 59 points or less.
• The Hawks had five blocks at Rider and have now blocked at least five shots in every game this season.
• Five Hawks played in Canada before joining the Monmouth family - Ella Farrelly, Taisha Exanor, Sandrine Clesca, Rosalie Mercille and Divine Dibula. 
 

RAINING THREES
Senior Kaci Donovan put on a show from three-point range on Saturday at Rider. Donovan knocked down a career-high seven three-pointers, including four in the first quarter.

Donovan's seven triples are tied for third in single-game history at Monmouth and are the most by a Hawk since Sierra Green had eight in a game during the 2018-19 season. In addition, Donovan's fourth three of the day was the 100th of her Monmouth career. She is the 15th player in school history to reach 100 career threes.

FIFTY BELOW
Monmouth held Rider to just 42 points on Saturday afternoon. It was the second lowest point total allowed by the Hawks under head coach Ginny Boggess (37 vs. Dartmouth - 12/5/21). It was also the eighth time under Boggess that the Hawks have held an opponent to under 50 points on the scoreboard.

CELEBRATING IN STYLE
Senior Taisha Exanor celebrated her birthday in style on Saturday. The forward poured in a career-high 15 points for the Hawks after shooting 63.6% (7-for-11) from the field. It was Exanor's second game in double figures this season. She also added four rebounds, an assist and a steal on her birthday.

VERSUS THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Monmouth begins a stretch of three straight games against the Patriot League (American, Lafayette and Loyola). The Hawks have registered 30 wins all-time against schools that are currently members of the Patriot League. Monmouth has had its best success against Loyola (8-4). The Hawks have winning records against Lehigh (7-5), Colgate (4-0), Loyola (8-4), Lafayette (4-3) and Navy (4-2).

NOT IN MY HOUSE
The Hawks have made their presence felt around the basket this season. Monmouth ranked fifth nationally in blocks per game (6.9) through Monday's action. Monmouth has recorded at least five blocks in every game this season.

Leading that charge has been Belle Kranbuhl and Taisha Exanor, who have 18 and 12 blocks respectively through seven games. Kranbuhl has at least two blocks in six of seven games, including a season-high five swats at Providence. Exanor contributed at least one block in each of her first six games as a Hawk.

GOING DEEP
Monmouth drained a season-best 12 three-pointers against Rider on Saturday. Those efforts were led by Kaci Donovan, who knocked down seven shots from behind the arc. The Hawks are 3-1 this season when they hit five or more triples in the game.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
Monmouth dished out a season-high 18 assists in the win over Rider. Eight Hawks recorded at least one assist in the game, as Belle Kranbuhl led the way with a career-high six. Diamond Wiggins recorded the first assist of her career in the contest as well. Monmouth moved to 3-0 on the season when it posts double digit assists in a game.  

CLEANING THE GLASS
Monmouth pulled down 44 rebounds against Rider. Eleven different Hawks recorded at least one rebound in that contest and seven had four or more rebounds. Belle Kranbuhl led the Hawks with six rebounds in the contest. 

The Hawks are 2-1 this season when they pull down 40 or more rebounds in a game and 2-0 when they win the rebounding battle by a +10 margin. Last season the Hawks were 8-3 when they pulled down 40 or more rebounds in a game.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
American sits at 2-5 on the year and is coming off a 63-57 win over FDU on Saturday night. Emily Johns is averaging a team-best 12 points per game while Lauren Stack is adding 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
Monmouth hits the road to visit Lafayette (Dec. 11). The Hawks will not return home till Dec. 22 when it hosts Loyola (Md.).