The women’s basketball team fell to the Fairfield Stags 80-70 Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Fairfield, CT.
Senior guard Jasmine McCall led the Hawks with 16 points off the bench, with senior guard Jamiyah Bethune contributing 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists. With the loss, the team’s record fell to 9-16 (7-9 MAAC), while Fairfield improved to 15-10 (10-6 MAAC).
“They went inside a lot, and we were undersized so that worked out in their favor,” Bethune said after the game. Fairfield scored 34 of their 80 points in the paint, taking advantage of the mismatches inside, having three players over six feet.
Fairfield came out with hot shooting, beginning the game on a 7-0 run. MU quickly responded with an 11-3 run of their own to make the score 11-10 at the first media timeout. The two teams would remain close throughout the remainder of the first quarter, ending the first 20-17 in favor of the Stags.
The Stags opened the game up in the second quarter, their lead increasing to eight at the media timeout, and 13 at halftime. McCall and junior guard Tyese Purvis led the Hawks with eight points at the intermission, while Fairfield had three players already in double digit scoring, junior forwards Casey Smith (13), Kelsey Carey (10) and senior guard Kristin Schatzlein (10).
The Stags extended their lead to 18 points early in the second half, and would stay up 18 to close out the third. In the fourth, the Hawks slowly began to cut into the deficit, bringing it down to 10 twice. Bethune led the Hawks in the second half, scoring eight of her 15 points.
“I just tried to catch it and go off the edge to beat them on the first step,” Bethune said.
MU entered the game against Fairfield hot, winning three of their last four games, including a 57-56 victory over the Manhattan Jaspers Thursday, Feb. 11 at Draddy Gymnasium.
Senior guard Sarah Olson led the Hawks in scoring with 16 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. MU also received contributions from McCall, who netted 14 points of her own, and junior forward Christina Mitchell, who had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
“We showed guts today,” head coach Jenny Palmateer said after the Manhattan game. “We were struggling to score the entire game, and we had a core group that brought us back on the defensive end.”
After seeing their lead shrink to four points in the opening minutes of the second half, the Jaspers embarked on a 10-0 scoring run to make the score 38-24. After MU cut the lead to single digits, Manhattan started yet another scoring run, which brought their lead back up to 14 points at the end of the third quarter.
The Hawks went on a 7-0 scoring run at the 8:37 mark in the fourth, which sliced the Manhattan lead in half. After another Jasper three points, MU once again went on another 7-0 scoring run, this time sparked by a 3-point basket, a steal, and a fast-break layup all by Olson. With the score 52-49, Manhattan guard Blake Underhill converted on a layup while being fouled, but could not finish the three-point play, making the score 54-49. Olson’s four straight points from the free-throw line made it a one point game with 2:15 left.
After both teams traded free-throws, McCall drove inside and drew the foul call, making both from the line to give the Hawks their first lead since the first quarter. The Jaspers were unable to score in the final seconds, making the final score 57-56.
The Hawks start their NY road trip on Friday, Feb. 19 as they travel to Lewiston, NY to face the Niagra Purple Eagles. Tip-off is slated for shortly after 7 p.m. with live audio on WMCX 88.9 FM. They will then verse Canisius at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb 21. The game will be shown on ESPN3.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
