Monmouth University Athletics

PISCATAWAY, NJ — Monmouth narrowly came away with its third-straight win Wednesday night but hopes were thwarted in the final seconds by the hosting Rutgers Scarlet Knights. 

The Hawks (2-1 overall, 0-0 CAA) traveled 38 miles for a battle of New Jersey against Rutgers University and led by as many as 17 in the game. However, a third-quarter surge for the hosts proved as the difference with the Scarlet Knights taking the lead and then holding on following a last-second bucket to clinch a 64-62 win.

Monmouth got out in front early and took a 10-point lead after the first. A nice defensive stand on a Scarlet Knights in-bound play allowed the Hawks to push in transition with Gigi Gamble earning an and-1 on the other end. Gamble missed the ensuing free throw, but Divine Dibula was there to rip down the offensive board to give the visitors an extra possession, which they capitalized on in the form of a Vanessa McManus corner 3 to push the lead to 11-5.

Rutgers chipped away and got back within four with four minutes to go in the period, but Gamble and Dibula took over from there as they each connected in the paint to extend the Hawks cushion to eight with a minute left. The Scarlet Knights held possession for seemingly the final look of the quarter, but Gamble made sure to create a double-digit advantage before the final buzzer, as she ripped the ball out of the hands of Rutgers' Mia Pauldo and went coast-to-coast for the final points of the period.

Dibula sparked a surge for Monmouth to start the second, first with an offensive board that led to a bucket in the paint for Gamble and then on the defensive end, swatting away an attempt by Pauldo into the stands to ignite the visiting crowd.

A steal in the open court by Kailah Correa led to an and-1 the other way midway through the quarter to fatten the cushion to 15, but it was a Gamble 3-pointer that cemented the Hawks' largest lead of the game at 38-21.

Rutgers ended the half with some life, however, draining a 3 before getting a stop and ending the quarter with the final points going into the break to trim the deficit to 12.
 

They took the momentum into the third where they kept the Hawks to just six points, four of which came in the opening two possessions with Monmouth going scoreless for a four-minute stretch until Dibula hit in the paint to end the drought and re-up the 12-point lead. The Scarlet Knights countered with a 12-point run to tie the game at 44-all entering the fourth.  

Rutgers took its first lead since the opening minutes at the 9-minute mark of the fourth. The game hovered around three points with the hosts staying out in front for the majority until Gamble buried a 3-pointer off a screen with 2:23 to go to knot the score at 58-all.
The hosts answered next time down the floor, connecting on a floater to re-take the lead, but Gamble responded quickly to knot the game once again. The score remained until 15.6 seconds remaining when the Scarlet Knights hit again in the lane to extend the advantage, 62-60. They decided to intentionally foul Gamble in the final seconds with the senior making just 2-for-4 in the game. However, Gamble came up clutch when it mattered most and swished on both attempts from the charity stripe to create a 62-point stalemate between the two sides.

Rutgers called a timeout and out of the break, put the ball in the hands of Pauldo who got her pull up mid-ranged jumper to go despite tight defense with a hand in her face by Kathy Kersaint. The ball rattled in and pushed the score to 64-62 with 2.3 seconds left. The Hawks had an opportunity with the ball underneath, but timing on the in-bounds pass hindered the final play with the Scarlet Knights holding on for the win.

 Gamble led all scorers with 30 points on 12-for-19 shooting, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range with four rebounds and a steal. Dibula followed with 16 points (7-for-13) and six rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass, with one assist, a block and a steal.

As a team, the Hawks shot 48.1 percent from the field and totaled more than half of their points in the paint but turned the ball over a season-high 22 times with Rutgers capitalizing with 13 points off those miscues.

Monmouth suffered its first loss of the season, while Rutgers improved to 4-0 to start the year. The Hawks are back in action Friday, hosting Bryant & Stratton at the Hackensack Meridian Athletic Center (HMAC) at 6 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS


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