FINAL SCORE
Monmouth (14-13, 9-7 CAA) – 63
Stony Brook (11-16, 6-10 CAA) – 56
 
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Monmouth University Women's Basketball Team put together a dominant fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought 63-56 victory over Stony Brook on Sunday on Long Island.
 
Taisha Exanor led the Hawks with 16 points and nine rebounds, shooting 6-for-10 from the field while knocking down a clutch free throw in the closing seconds. Divine Dibula delivered a crucial performance off the bench, scoring 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting while adding five rebounds. Damaris Rodriguez added 15 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter, and hit four free throws late to help seal the win.
 
The game was tightly contested early, with Monmouth holding a slim 11-10 lead after the first quarter. Stony Brook responded in the second, outscoring the Hawks 15-14 to tie the game at 25-25 heading into halftime.
 
Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter, but the Seawolves caught fire from deep, making six three-pointers in the period to take a 47-41 lead into the final frame. However, Monmouth turned the game around in the fourth, holding Stony Brook to just 15% shooting while outscoring them 22-9 over the final 10 minutes.
 
Monmouth dominated inside, scoring 32 points in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 36-29. The Hawks also forced 13 turnovers and capitalized with 15 points off those mistakes.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"I am proud of the fight. It felt like it was a battle all game - it was really close and back-and-forth the whole way. It can be tough when you have offensive foul calls on you like we did today, but our girls kept regrouping and fighting back. That has been the story from the start of the season, from where we started to where we are now, so I am really proud to see the way it transpired here today.
 
It's all about the buy in. We have a great group of girls - some returners but a lot of new faces. With a new staff, as well, it took some time for the chemistry to come together. Our players have been bought in since the beginning. Any setback, they've stayed locked in, two feet in, and I think that togetherness has really helped us." – Head Coach Cait Wetmore
 
- Monmouth takes the season series, 2-0.
- Exanor scored in double figures for the ninth consecutive game.
- Dibula was a game-high +9.
- Ella Farrelly played a game-high 38:46.
- Reynolds now has sixth games of eight or more points this season.
- Monmouth improves to 9-7 in CAA contests and 5-10 on the road.
- The all-time series is tied, 5-5.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
- The game featured nine lead changes and 17 ties.
- The Hawks led for 13:42, while the Seawolves led for 15:11.
- Monmouth made 50.0% of its field goals to Stony Brook's 37.3%.
- MU won the rebounding battle, 36-29.
- Monmouth outscored Stony Brook, 15-7, off turnovers.
- Monmouth had more points in the paint, 32-12.
- Stony Brook had more second chance points, 12-8.
- MU had more fastbreak points, 11-2.
- Monmouth had more bench points, 17-5.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks return home to play Towson on Thursday, March 6. The game will be broadcast live on FloCollege at 7 p.m.