Thursday night’s women’s basketball game saw Monmouth’s Hawks (10-8, 5-4 MAAC) fall short to Siena, 61-54, but not before a tremendous comeback effort. Trailing by as much as 17 in the third quarter, the Hawks found their stride behind Stella Clark, with an offensive run that cut their deficit to within single digits before the end of the quarter.
Despite a back and forth third, Siena’s Saints held onto their lead going into the fourth, with Monmouth holding it close. The Hawks kept pace with Siena throughout much of the fourth before going on an 11-3 run in the final period, fueled by a 3-pointer from Ariana Vanderhoop.
The run would cut the Saints’ lead to just three, at 57-54, with under a minute to play in regulation. The Saints (6-12, 6-4 MAAC) would find themselves icing the game from the free throw line on the ensuing possessions, as Monmouth’s late game efforts would come up just short.
MU’s Stella Clark finished the game with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-16 from the field, with nine of her points coming from beyond the arc. This marked Clark’s third 20-point performance of the year.
Ariana Vanderhoo pitched in on the scoreboard as well with 10 points, as Jen Louro and Kayla Richardson each contributed five points of their own in the Hawks ’effort.
The Monmouth University Women’s Basketball team then overpowered the Quinnipiac Bobcats, 64-55 on Saturday at OceanFirst Bank Center. The Hawks (11-8, 6-4 MAAC) victory completes their regular season sweep of the Bobcats for the first time since the 2003-2004 campaign.
The away Bobcats (13-8, 8-4 MAAC) came out hot, jumping on the Hawks early and holding a lead throughout much of the first half and into halftime. Coming out of the break, the third quarter was all Hawks, as MU outscored Quinnipiac, 21-10, in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
After three back and forth quarters, the Bobcats found a late surge in the fourth, going on a 10-2 run that would bring them back to even with the Hawks at 55-55, with only 2:49 remaining in the fourth. The Hawks, who shot 9-10 from the free throw line for the game, would ice the game at the stripe, securing the close win at home.
Monmouth’s Stella Clark contributed 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds in the contest. Kaci Donovan also found herself in the double figure’s category with 10 points. Antonia Panayides contributed 9 points on the night, with all of her points coming from the long ball. Panayides was 3-of-4 on the day from three. Looking ahead, the Hawks will face Canisius in an away matchup on Feb. 10.
