Monmouth University (5-3) took down St. Francis Brooklyn (1-7) 57-44 in a home matchup on Thursday, Dec. 1.
The Win improved the Hawks’ home record to 3-0 on the season and secured their eleventh win at home since the start of the 2021-2022 season.
The match was a defensive spectacle for the Hawks, who held the Terriers to a mere 44 points in the lowest point total allowed by Monmouth this season and second lowest under head coach Ginny Boggess, second to the 39 points Monmouth held Dartmouth to last year. The victory over St. Francis Brooklyn also marked the sixth time the Hawks have held an opponent under 50 points under the leadership of Boggess.
Monmouth came out strong, leading the Terriers 17-6 at the end of the first quarter after a three-pointer from Antonia Panayides at the buzzer. The Hawks held a similar advantage during the second quarter, holding St. Francis Brooklyn to another six points while scoring 16 of their own. The two teams traded buckets to start the quarter, but the Hawks went on a 11-0 run led by a triple from Lovin Marsicano and capped off by a buzzer-beater three from Bri Tinsley to make the score 33-12 going into halftime.
The second half of play told an entirely different story than the first, with the Terriers outscoring the Hawks in both the third and fourth quarters. St. Francis Brooklyn scored 10 of the 17 points put on the scoreboard in the third quarter, holding the Hawks to a game-low seven. Still, the Hawks had built up enough of a lead in the first half to maintain a comfortable 40-22 lead going into the final period of play.
The fourth quarter was action-packed for both teams. The Terriers saw their highest scoring period of the game, notching 22 points in the final 10 minutes of play. In a similar fashion, the Hawks posted 17 points in the fourth quarter, tying their total from the first quarter to prove their consistent performance. Despite the scoring advantage held by St. Francis Brooklyn in the second half, it wasn’t enough to catch up to the Hawks, who held the lead for the duration of the game and never once fell to the visiting team.
Five Hawks knocked at least one three-pointer to bring Monmouth’s three-point total to nine throughout the match. Notably, Monmouth is 4-1 on the year when they sink eight or more threes in a game.
Jen Louro came off the bench to score a game-high 12 points for the Hawks, going 4-for-6 from three-point range. Panayides added an additional two three-pointers to the Hawks’ offensive effort, marking a season-high six points for the sophomore guard. Ariana Vanderhoop led the rebounding battle with a career-high 12 rebounds while teammate Belle Kranbuhl posted three blocks for the Hawks. Kranbuhl now leads the team with 17 blocks on the season and has at least three blocks in four straight games.
Monmouth had 11 assists on 21 made baskets in the game, three of which were posted by Tinsley. 10 of the 12 Hawks who appeared in the game scored at least three points and 10 Hawks recorded at least one rebound, showcasing the collective effort from a balanced Monmouth team.
“We got off to a better start than we have been with the last couple of games, so I’m happy with that. I was impressed with our offense rebounding, especially in the first half and from Ariana Vanderhoop. We did a good job of trying to share the basketball,” said Boggess on her team’s performance.
Up next, the Hawks will hit the road for a match against La Salle on Wednesday, Dec. 7 in Philadelphia, PA.
