WB Loss Canisus 74 54
Sports

Women’s Basketball Drops Two Conference Games Over Weekend

The Monmouth University Women’s basketball team fell to Canisius 74-54 Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.

Freshman forward Taylor Nason scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Monmouth, while freshman guard Rosa Graham scored nine points and corralled six rebounds.

Canisius opened the scoring 14 seconds into the contest and never relinquished their lead for the rest of the game. Monmouth was able to trim the deficit to five points at the end of the first quarter with the score 20-15. The Golden Griffins responded with 26-11 scoring run in the second quarter to make the halftime score 46-26. The largest lead of the game came with 9:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, as Canisius led 71-45.

“It was a disappointing day for us,” Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer said after the game. “Obviously those are not the results we were looking for this weekend, but on the flip side I think we learned a lot of lessons by having these two early conference games.”

For the game, Monmouth shot 30.1 percent from field goal range and just 15.4 percent from three-point range. On the flip side, Canisius shot 53.3 percent from field goal range and 46.7 percent from three. The Hawks made just four three-pointers after coming into the game ranking eighth in the country in three-point field goals made per game at 9.8.

The Hawks did score nine fast break points in the game and 17 second chance points. Monmouth was outscored by 10 in the paint, 44-34.

Nason’s 11 points and nine rebounds were both career highs for the freshman, along with her 29 minutes played in the game. Graham also played a career high in minutes at 28. Ten Hawks saw action in the game, with each playing at least 11 minutes. Senior forward Christina Mitchell played in her 100th career game for Monmouth, grabbing three rebounds and registering three blocks.

The loss was the second in a row for the Hawks, as they fell to Niagara 66-45 Friday night. Mitchell scored 10 points in the contest, with freshman forward Kayla Shaw adding nine points, all on three-point shots.

“They just outplayed us,” Palmateer said after the game. “They hit some big shots to start the game and we just struggled to score while turning the ball over too much. They were able to capitalize by shooting really well and taking advantage of our mistakes.”

In that game, the Hawks also shot a low percentage, at 27 percent from the field. They shot 6-30 from the three-point arc, including a 0-11 stretch in the fourth quarter.

Sunday’s loss drops the Hawks’ record to 2-5, and 0-2 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play. The Hawks will not play another conference game until January.

Monmouth looks to rebound in their next game on Thursday night, as the Hawks return to nonconference play to face Sacred Heart. Tip-off from Fairfield, CT is slated for 6:00 p.m. The game can be found on WMCX 88.9 FM.

PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth University Athletics