The women’s basketball team fell to Marist 76-66 Saturday night in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Sophomore guard McKinzee Barker led the Hawks in scoring with 16 points and senior center Christina Mitchell had a double-double with 12 and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Rosa Graham was the only other Hawk in double figures with 11.
The game was tightly contested in the opening minutes, as both teams traded baskets, making the score 12-10 at the first media timeout. Monmouth took the lead on a Barker three, and she hit another to give the Hawks a 16-12 lead with 1:41 left in the first. Marist went on a 7-0 run to take a 19-16 lead after 10 minutes.
The Red Foxes hit a three early in the second to open a 22-16 lead, but both teams would continue to trade baskets, with the score 30-23 at the 4:56 mark of the second quarter. Monmouth got within four, but Marist once again found a response, opening their lead up to 36-28 with 2:42 remaining in the half. Freshman guard Kayla Shaw connected on a three to cut the deficit to five, and then senior guard Tyese Purvis drove inside and finished on a layup to make the score 36-33. Marist rattled off the last five points of the half to make the score 40-33 after 20 minutes of play.
The teams traded baskets early in the third, and it was a layup from Mitchell that made it a one possession game, 42-39, with 7:27 left in the quarter. About a minute later, after the teams exchanged scores, Shaw hit one of her own, being fouled in the process. She hit the resulting free throw, making the score 47-44 at the 6:07 mark. That would be the closest the Hawks would get for the rest of the game. The Red Foxes closed the quarter strong, holding a seven point lead after three quarters.
Monmouth got within five on a Barker jumper, but Marist once again found a response, opening up a 65-58 lead at the final media timeout. Monmouth could not climb back in it, as Marist sealed the game late on five free throws, making the final score 76-66.
“We played with a lot of energy tonight which was good to see,” Monmouth Head Coach Jenny Palmateer said after the game, “but we just didn’t shoot the ball well.”
For the game, the Hawks shot 35 percent from the field, 23 percent from three, and 42 percent from the foul line. The Hawks as a team missed 23 three-point attempts and 11 free throws. Monmouth turned the ball over just seven times in the contest.
“Marist hit a lot of threes in the first half,” Palmateer added, “and when we would get stops we couldn’t capitalize on the other end. We were right there for most of the game, being on the verge of making that one shot that could give us that energy and push us over the edge, but we were never able to hit it.”
The loss is the second straight for the Hawks, who were looking to rebound from a 75-61 loss to Manhattan Thursday evening at the OceanFirst Bank Center. Barker led the Hawks with 11 points, and Shaw added 10. The Hawks saw Manhattan shoot 58 percent from the field and 53 percent from three, which was the highest from any Hawks’ opponent this season.
“We struggled on the defensive end tonight and on top of that Manhattan hit some really tough shots,” Palmateer said. “We weren’t able to overcome that tonight.”
Saturday’s loss to Marist dropped the Hawks’ record to 12-14 on the season, with a 7-10 record in MAAC play. Monmouth looks to snap its two-game losing streak Tuesday night, as they travel to face hOURglass rival and conference leader Rider. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and the game can be found on WMCX 88.9 FM.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics