FINAL SCORE
Monmouth 67 (12-6, 5-2 CAA)
William & Mary 56 (9-10, 5-3 CAA)

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Sandrine Clesca and Taisha Exanor combined for 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Monmouth University women's basketball team to a 67-56 win at William & Mary on Sunday afternoon in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) action.
 
The Hawks extended their current win streak to three straight games and pushed their road win streak to seven straight contests. 
 
With William & Mary leading 7-2 in the first period, Monmouth used a 12-0 run to take a 14-7 advantage with 3:26 left in the stanza. Exanor had five points during that stretch. The Tribe cut the Monmouth lead to four but the Hawks scored the final four points of the period and took an 18-10 lead after one. 
 
The Tribe scored the first six points of the second quarter and forced the Hawks to use a timeout. Monmouth scored four of the next six points following the break and led 22-18 with 4:10 showing on the clock. The two sides traded points before Nylah Young scored the final four points of the period and sent William & Mary into the break with a 27-26 edge. 
 
Monmouth opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run and took a 37-29 lead with 5:55 left in the period. Kaci Donovan had five in that stretch while Clesca added four. The Hawks and Tribe continued to battle as a three-pointer from Clesca in the final minute of the period gave Monmouth a 42-36 lead after three. 
 
Monmouth shot a blistering 83.3% from the field in the fourth quarter of play. The Hawks pushed their lead to double digits with just under four and a half minutes to play. Monmouth eventually claimed the 67-56 victory.

NOTES & QUOTES
"It is always a battle on the road in this league. We fought hard on the boards today and did a much better job of finishing the play without fouling. We had some players step in and make big time plays down the stretch. I'm so happy for the squad that all the hard work resulted in two road wins this weekend."
    - Head coach Ginny Boggess

- Monmouth earned its first win in four tries against William & Mary since the Hawks joined the CAA last season. The win also avenges one of Monmouth's two CAA losses this season.
- The win was the Hawks' seventh straight on the road (Dec. 2-pres.). It is the longest road win streak under head coach Ginny Boggess and the second longest road win streak in program history (school record is eight-2002-03).
- Sandrine Clesca finished with a career-high 15 points for the Hawks. It was her second straight game in double figures and fourth game to reach the mark this season.  
- Taisha Exanor finished with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. It was Exanor's first double-double of her career and the first by a Hawk since Ariana Vanderhoop had one against Hofstra last year. It was Exanor's fourth game this season to reach double digit points and second game with double digit rebounds.  
- Rosalie Mercille contributed 10 points for her third game this season in double figures.  
- Mercille and Belle Kranbuhl each dished out a team-high three assists in the contest.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
- Monmouth shot 49.1% from the floor, including an impressive 73.9 shooting percentage in the second half.
- The Hawks held William & Mary to a 35.0 field goal percentage for the game. 
- Both teams made the most of their opportunities from the foul line as Monmouth was 8-for-9 in the game while the Tribe shot 8-for-11.
- Monmouth won the rebounding battle, 43-27 as eight different Hawks pulled down at least one rebound. The Hawks move to 8-1 on the year when they pull down 40 or more rebounds in a single game.  
- The Hawks finished with seven blocks in the game as Taisha Exanor led the efforts with five rejections. It was the seventh time this season, the Hawks have seven or more blocks in a game. 
- MU had a dominating inside performance as the Hawks scored 42 of their 67 points in the paint. 
 
NEXT UP
Monmouth returns home on Friday, Feb. 2 to host Towson at 7 p.m. That will be the Hawks' annual Pride Game in the OceanFirst Bank Center.