In games on Friday, Feb. 3 and Sunday, Feb. 5 respectively, the Monmouth University women’s basketball team picked up both a win and a loss in two hard fought and competitive CAA matchups against Hofstra and William & Mary; the Hawks also got to celebrate some monumental individual achievements.
In Friday’s matchup, the Hawks (11-11, 6-5 CAA) hosted the Hofstra Pride (8-13, 2-8 CAA) in a close battle, and eventually broke away with a 63-59 victory. The teams began the first quarter trading some large runs back and forth, with the Pride starting out on a 7-2 run and the Hawks responding with an 8-5 run. Although the Pride edged their way in the front afterwards, the Hawks entered the second half with a small one-point advantage.
Once again heading into the locker room at the half with another narrow, one-point advantage, the Hawks fought competitively against the Pride keeping the game close all throughout the third quarter. In the final quarter, the Hawks started out with a decisive 10-0 run that the Pride were never able to get ahead of, and a couple of insurance free throws by junior guard Ariana Vanderhoop and graduate guard Bri Tinsley secured the four-point win.
The night also marked a couple big moments for various Hawks. Vanderhoop celebrated a career-high 13 rebounds, and graduate forward Lucy Thomas’ 19 points inched her closer to a special benchmark, giving her a career total of 996 points.
Head Coach Ginny Boggess also reflected on the presence of members and coach Milt Parker of the ‘83 team at the game: “I’m really proud of our togetherness and everyone stepped up and made big plays down the stretch. It was so great to honor the ‘83 team and share today with our alums.”
In the second of the two games, although ultimately falling 73-68 to the William & Mary Tribe (12-10, 7-4 CAA), the Hawks nevertheless put up another hard-fought performance and celebrated some more huge moments for the program and players.
For much of the matchup, the Hawks and Tribe traded leads, with Monmouth going into the half with only an eight-point deficit that they would make up with a poignant 11-0 run in the third quarter. Throughout the game, the Hawks continued to capitalize off of their offensive rebounding and go up 17-12 for second-chance points. After continuing to fight back and forth for the lead, the Hawks tied it up at 63 with just 3:11 to go in the fourth. Although a 4-6 finish allowed the Tribe to come out on top, the Hawks’ ability to keep their opponents so close throughout the game was all thanks to immeasurable contributions all around.
With her nine points against the Tribe, Thomas celebrated reaching her 1,000th career point on a layup she scored in the third quarter, subsequently becoming only the 18th player to do so in team history. Tinsley also put up an impressive career-high 30 points, becoming the first to do so in 10 years of Hawk women’s basketball.
The Hawks’ next matchup is at home in West Long Branch on Sunday, Feb. 12 when they will host the Drexel Dragons at 3 p.m.
