Women’s Basketball completed a second-half comeback against Campbell on Friday, Feb. 16, to secure their ninth-straight road win and set a school record for the longest road win streak.
The first half saw an effort from both teams, offensively and defensively. After trailing 10-9 in the first period, Monmouth scored four of the final six points of the stanza to lead by one, 13-12, after the first. The second period saw more action from the Fighting Camels, and they held Monmouth to only seven points compared to the 14 they scored. That allowed Campbell to take the lead back, 26-20, to go into halftime.
Senior Sandrine Clesca opened up play for the Hawks after halftime with a three-pointer, setting the tempo for the rest of the game. Monmouth closed the third quarter with an 8-2 run and led 39-38 after three periods. Sophomore Ella Farrelly contributed six points in that run for the Hawks.
The scoring continued into the fourth quarter for the Hawks with buckets from senior Belle Kranbuhl and senior Ariana Vanderhoop that pushed Monmouth’s lead to 43-38. After Monmouth’s lead fluctuated over the next several minutes, Campbell tied the game 48-48 with 2:52 left to play. Monmouth took control and finished the game off with a 5-2 run to secure the 53-49 victory.
According to the Monmouth Athletics Website, Head Coach Ginny Boggess shared, “This group dug deep in the second half and found a way to rewrite history! I am having an absolute blast coaching them. I also want to recognize the incredible efforts of our staff and their high-level preparation to put our team in this position. We will certainly enjoy this as we have a huge road test on Sunday.”
And they certainly did. Monmouth was on the road again to face North Carolina A&T on Sunday, Feb. 18, where they won 80-76 in double overtime.
The Aggies started hot, scoring the first nine points of the contest and leading 21-7 after the first period. North Carolina A&T kept the shots coming, as they scored four of the first six points and took their largest lead of the game, 25-9, with 7:44 left until the half. A huge 13-0 run for the Hawks cut the Aggies lead to three, 25-22, with just 1:54 left in the half. North Carolina A&T claimed their lead back and went into the half with the advantage, 28-24.
North Carolina A&T pushed its lead to 34-24 in the third, scoring the first six points of the period. Senior Kaci Donovan hit a three-pointer at 4:24 to pull the Hawks within one point of the Aggies, 35-34. Both teams continued to battle back and forth before Vanderhoop made it a 44-39 game.
An 8-0 run from the Aggies started the fourth quarter, but an 11-2 run from the Hawks ended it. At the end of regulation, it was 56-56, after Donovan hit a three with five seconds left to play.
The first overtime was a battle for both teams as the Hawks and Aggies each went 1-for-2 from the foul line in the final 15 seconds and tied the game 63-63 to go into the second overtime.
North Carolina A&T scored six of the first 11 points and led 70-69 with just over three minutes on the clock. Monmouth returned the favor as senior Jania Hall scored seven points in a minute-plus span, giving Monmouth a 76-70 lead with just 28 seconds left in the second overtime. North Carolina A&T quickly cut the Hawks lead to two, 78-76, with four seconds left. Every last second counted for this game, as Vanderhoop hit both her free throws with two seconds left, to secure Monmouth’s10th straight road win. Hall, Clesca, and Vanderhoop combined to go 22-for-22 from the foul line, while Hall finished 11-for-11.
This 10th straight win on the road for Monmouth put them into fourth place in the CAA standings, trailing behind N.C. A&T, Charleston, and William & Mary.
This was Monmouth’s first win in three tries against North Carolina A&T. Hall finished with 21 points, her career-high, while Clesca finished with 17 points for her career-high and fifth game this season in double figures.
The Hawks will face Drexel at the Ocean First Bank Center on Friday, Feb 23, at 7 p.m.
