WEST LONG BRANCH, New Jersey - Four Red Foxes reached double figures, and Marist Women's Basketball utilized a 16-0 run over the span of eight-plus minutes in the second half to take a 74-53 victory on Saturday afternoon at OceanFirst Bank Center.
The win extends Marist's winning streak to three games, putting their MAAC record at 7-1 and overall mark at 14-3. Monmouth sustains their eighth loss in nine games, dropping their record to 2-8 in conference and 5-14 overall.
Both sides had 30 points at halftime, but the Red Foxes scored five points in the first minute of the third quarter. A three-pointer from redshirt senior captain
Alana Gilmer coerced Monmouth to take a timeout.
The Hawks kept it close as Marist nursed a 45-43 to 4:30 to play in the stanza, but Marist ended the half on a 12-0 run. That edge later extended to 16-0 as the Hawks' scoreless drought went to 8:18.
Gilmer led Marist with 16 points on 50 percent shooting. Redshirt senior captain
Grace Vander Weide, senior captain
Rebekah Hand, and junior forward
Willow Duffell also reached double figures.
Lucy Thomas paced Monmouth with 16 points.
- Gilmer knocked down her first three shots of the game in the opening 3:14 to put Marist up 10-2 early.
- Monmouth then went on a 7-2 run to get within 11-9.
- Leading 13-11, Vander Weide nailed a 40-foot straightaway heave just before the buzzer to cap the first quarter.
- Just 1:20 into the second, Rebekah Hand zipped a pass to Duffell by the left block for a short jumper, extending the advantage to 20-13.
- Sophomore guard Kendall Krick knocked down a corner triple off a dish from Vander Weide to keep Marist up seven, 28-21, halfway through the frame.
- Both teams then experienced a scoring drought, but the Hawks were able to execute a 9-2 burst to tie the game for the first time at the half.
- The Red Foxes came out of the break with five quick points, capped by a Gilmer three, to force Monmouth to take a timeout less than a minute into the quarter.
- Rebekah Hand then buried a pair of threes, and Duffell converted a layup to make it 43-35 at the 7:45 mark.
- After calling a timeout, Monmouth got it to within one possession multiple times, the latter at 45-43 with 4:30 remaining in the third.
- Vander Weide kept the Hawks away with a corner three to begin the 16-0 run. Redshirt junior forward Molly Smith hit a right-wing trey to end the quarter, making it 55-43.
- The Red Fox lead extended to 61-43 before Monmouth scored on a free throw with 6:12 to play.
- Freshman guard Trinasia Kennedy scored Marist's final eight points.
- As a team, Marist shot 45.2 percent, including 12-23 from distance (a season-high 52.2 percent).
- The Red Foxes assisted on 21 of their 28 baskets. It's the ninth time this season Marist recorded at least 20 assists.
- Rebekah Hand paced the squad with a game-high six assists.
- In the rebounding battle, Marist held the 35-28 edge, including a 13-5 advantage in offensive boards.
- Duffell had four offensive rebounds, and led the team with six boards.
- Gilmer was a team-best +25 on the floor, while junior guard Allie Best was +22.
- Monmouth did not register a field goal from 4:30 left in the third to 3:58 in the fourth.
- Rebekah Hand moved into third place on Marist's all-time career field goals list, passing Stacey Dengler. She now has 596 career buckets.
- In her last three games, Duffell is averaging just under 10 points per game, and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
- The Red Foxes boost their winning streak to seven games over Monmouth. The team is 26-20 in the all-time series.
- Marist is now 6-1 on the road in 2019-20.
- Dating back to January 2, Gilmer has hit 50 percent or better of her shots in seven of the last eight games.
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- Marist treks to Connecticut for a date with Fairfield on Thursday, January 30 at 7 p.m.
- Both teams sit in the top three in the MAAC standings.
