FINAL SCORE
Brown (1-1) – 81
Monmouth (0-2) – 61
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Fifth year forward Taisha Exanor scored a team high 21 points as the Monmouth University Women's Basketball Team lost its home opener to the Brown Bears, 81-61, at the OceanFirst Bank Center on Saturday afternoon.

Exanor's 21 is a new career best for the Quebec native, as she added nine rebounds and five assists – all totals that led Monmouth on the final stat sheet.

Exanor got rolling early with two threes within the first five minutes of the contest, helping Monmouth hold a 15-7 advantage into the first intermission. Dayshawna Carter scored seven straight points to push the Hawks lead up to 10 – their largest of the afternoon. Carter finished with a career high of 14. Brown outscored Monmouth 19-14 behind a 14-0 run in the second quarter, but the Hawks held the Bears scoreless in the final 4:20 of the half to keep the lead at the break, 29-26.

The Bears jumped out to a 9-0 run in the third quarter to take the lead, though it was ended by an Ella Farrelly layup and Kemari Reynolds three. Entering the fourth, Brown held a seven-point advantage.

Eleven of Exanor's points came in the second half, two of which came on a layup 16 seconds into the final stanza to cut the deficit to five. The Hawks attempted to chip away, but Brown nailed a trio of threes in a row to quickly push the lead to 14 and eventually won by 20.
 
NOTES & QUOTE
"We are working hard to find our best rotations and put together a full 40 minutes, particularly on the defensive end. We will look to bounce back at George Mason on Tuesday." – Head Coach Cait Wetmore

- Ella Farrelly had a career high nine rebounds.
- Brown improved to 4-0 all-time versus Monmouth.
- Freshman Rebecca Milon made her collegiate debut and grabbed her first career rebound.
- The last time Monmouth lost their home opener was 2020-21.
- Monmouth pulled in 15 offensive rebounds, one shy of their 16 at Yale on Monday.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
- Monmouth shot 80% from the free throw line going 8-of-10.
- Brown shot 68.8% in the third quarter.
- The two teams tied in the rebounding battle, 40-40.
- Brown had more points in the paint, 32-30.
- Both teams had 10 second chance points.
- Monmouth totaled more bench points than Brown, 22-18.
- Brown scored more points off turnovers, 22-8.
- Brown had more points in transition, 23-10.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will hit the road and play George Mason for the first time since 2004 on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.