Monmouth University Athletics

WEST LONG, BRANCH — It was a season-opening battle between two preseason favorites Monday night at the Hackensack Meridian Athletic Center.
 
The No. 1 Preseason pick of the CAA in the Monmouth Hawks took on the America East's No. 1 preseason pick the Binghamton Bearcats and the hosts proved which favorite rang superior in a gritty defensive effort that kept Binghamton to 20 percent shooting, while forcing 24 turnovers in a convincing, 63-40 victory.
 
"I'm proud of the girls," said Hawks coach Cait Wetmore. "I thought it was a full team contribution, big emphasis on our defense with two of their high-level scorers. I thought we did a nice job. A lot to clean up, but overall happy that everyone came in ready."
 
Monmouth's defensive pressure allowed the hosts to flex a 10-point advantage after the opening 15 minutes. Kathy Kersaint buoyed the Hawks' first quarter as she led all scorers with five points and three rebounds to begin the game. Her and-1 on a put-back pushed her team ahead midway through the first. Madalena Amaro helped add onto the run with tight 1-v-1 defense that led to a turnover on a traveling violation. Monmouth took advantage of the extra possession, scoring late in the shot clock on a nice pass by Vanessa McManus driving baseline to find Divine Dibula for an easy basket underneath.
 
The Hawks ended the period with another forced turnover on a steal by Gigi Gamble. The team held for the final possession with Gamble finishing on a floater in the lane to extend the run to 10 as she helped her team to a 14-4 cushion entering the fourth.
 
Monmouth pushed its advantage to as many as 14 just before the half. The sequence started on a long defensive board by Kellyn Preira who pushed ahead to Amaro. Amaro drove the length of the court but couldn't get her bucket to go with contact. Dibula was there trailing for the put-back and-1 igniting the Hawks' bench and home crowd. She completed the traditional three-point play to extend the lead to 27-13, but the Bearcats worked back within 11 at the buzzer with a made 3-point attempt.  
 
 
Binghamton chipped away at the lead and got within six to start the third after the Hawks went cold around the rim, missing their first four attempts of the second half. McManus ended the drought as she buried a much-needed 3-pointer to re-up an eight-point advantage for her side. Gamble then took over for the following three minutes to help reestablish a double-digit cushion for her team. Following a defensive stop, she pushed in transition and earned a trip to the line where she made 1-of-2. Dibula then came up with a steal two possessions later, leading to a transition bucket by Gamble, which slowly lit the Hawks' run.
 
"We all came together at one point when they started to make a comeback and we were like, we need to fight back, we need to punch back," said Dibula. "We can't lose our season opener at home either, so I'm really proud of the team of digging in even when things got hard."
 
Monmouth out-scored the Bearcats 12-8 to end the quarter, which allowed the Hawks to own a comfortable 45-31 lead entering the fourth. The hosts worked through foul trouble throughout the second half but were in need of their bench in the fourth who did well to continue stalling Binghamton's offensive efforts as they built onto the already fat cushion down the stretch, resulting in the 23-point win.
 
The Hawks were led by their two First Team Preseason All-CAA picks in Dibula and Gamble. Gamble led all scorers with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting with two rebounds, an assist and three steals. Dibula recorded her 10th career double-double, totaling 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting, going 7-for-7 from the foul line with 10 rebounds — five on the offensive glass — with a block and two steals.
 
 
"They both came in ready to score it," Wetmore said. "I thought Divine worked hard for her touches. They've got some good post defenders, and she was pretty physical the whole game and Gigi found her flow and did Gigi things — so happy with her confidence."
 
Defensively, the Hawks kept Binghamton to just 11 made baskets on 54 attempts, including 1-for-18 from 3-point range. Their two Preseason All-AEC selections in Bella Pucci and Kendall Bennett were limited to a combined 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting.
 
Monmouth, meanwhile, shot just above 35 percent and also struggled from behind the arc, hitting 4-for-21. However, their defensive effort propelled their offense as they tallied 21 points off turnovers with 18 fast-break points as the team combined for 13 steals with five players tallying two or more.
 
The Hawks return to the HMAC Friday to host Lehigh for a 6 p.m. tip. It will serve as a re-match of last year's first round WNIT matchup, which Monmouth won, 72-62. Dibula led all scorers in the game with 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting with Gamble following with 19 points.


Post-Game with Cait Wetmore and Divine Dibula (courtesy of the Monmouth Digital Sports Network) 


Post-Game Highlights 


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