The women’s basketball team erased an 18-point deficit but fell to top-seeded Sacred Heart, 58-48, in the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon at the Pitt Center. Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) finished with a team-high 13 points for the Hawks, whose season ends at 19-13. The Pioneers (25-7) advance to the NCAA Tournament with the win.
“I’m really disappointed to fall short in that one,” said Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer. “But at the same time, I’m really proud of the team to get to this point. I’m really, really proud of our team and what we achieved this season. I thought Sacred Heart was phenomenal today. They did a great job. They really jumped on us in that first half.”
Chanel Gomez (Perth Amboy, N.J./Perth Amboy [Brookdale C.C.]) added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Hawks, while Gena Broadus (Washington, D.C./Archbishop Carroll [George Mason]) also grabbed 11 boards for Monmouth. Betsy Gadziala (Whiteboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) also chipped in eight points. For their contributions during the NEC Tournament, Womack and Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Ericka Norman scored a team-high 18 points, while also adding six steals and two assists for the Pioneers. Gabrielle Washington chipped in 13 points and six rebounds, while Morgan Merriman had 11 points. Callan Taylor also contributed seven points and eight rebounds.
“[Sacred Heart] had some people who really stepped up, people who are solid, but not really known for putting up many points,” said Palmateer. “Norman was phenomenal. Merriman was phenomenal. Our goal going in was to be able to shut down Taylor and Washington. I thought we did a decent job on those two. So, give a lot of credit to them. I think they’ll do well in the NCAA Tournament. I’m going to be pulling for them as they move on.”
After the teams traded the lead five times in the opening minutes, Sacred Heart went on a 23-4 run to open a double-digit advantage, 28-10, on a Washington jumper. The Pioneers made 12 of their first 17 shots, including a stretch of eight straight attempts, while holding Monmouth to 21.7 percent (5-23) shooting in the span. But the Hawks scored 10 of the next 12 points, including four each from Gadziala and Gomez, to close the half and cut the deficit to 10 points, 30-20. Norman and Washington had seven points each to lead Sacred Heart, while Gadziala led Monmouth with six points.
A Norman three-point play and two Washington free throws to open the second half put Sacred Heart back on top by 15 with 17:29 remaining in regulation. Monmouth then reeled off 17 of the next 19 points to tie the game, 37-37. Womack scored five points in the span, while Gomez and Broadus had four points apiece in the run. Gadziala’s putback at the 11:15 mark tied the game.
Just as quickly as the Hawks erased the deficit, Sacred Heart rebuilt a nine-point cushion, scoring 13 of the next 17 points. Taylor hit a three-pointer at the 10:04 mark and the Pioneers never trailed again. Five different Sacred Heart players scored in the run, which was capped by three-straight buckets in the paint by Merriman, the last of which came with 1:50 to put SHU up by nine, 50-41. Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) three-pointer cut the deficit to six and two Womack free throws made it a four-point game. But the Pioneers scored the last six points of the game from the free-throw line to push the final score to 58-48.
For the game, the Pioneers outshot the Hawks, 35.6 percent (21-59) to 29.7 percent (19-64) from the floor and 18.2 percent (4-22) to 12.5 percent (2-16) from long range. Monmouth made all eight of its free-throw attempts, besting the Pioneers’ 75.0 percent (12-16), while also taking a 50-36 edge on the boards. Monmouth turned the ball over 22 times, the result of 14 Sacred Heart steals. The Pioneers turned the 22 turnovers into 21 points, while Monmouth mustered nine points off Sacred Heart’s 12 turnovers.
