Monmouth Extends Campaign With National Postseason Win
Ben Kane
RICHMOND, Va. (Mar. 19, 2026) – Two CAA Programs took the courts in national postseason tournaments on Thursday night with Monmouth advancing to the second round of the WNIT.
Monmouth 72, Lehigh 62
Gigi Gamble poured in nine consecutive points in the fourth quarter to lift Monmouth to a 72-62 victory over Lehigh in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday night from West Long Branch, N.J.
The Hawks move on to the second round and will face Cleveland State with a date and time still to be determined.
Three Monmouth players eclipsed the 15-point margin, with Divine Dibula’s 20 points pacing her squad. All-CAA first team selection Gamble had 19, while Alexis Andrews chipped in with 17. Belle Bramer had a team-high 19 points for Lehigh.
With 8:07 left in the game, Monmouth found itself ahead by just four points. After letting its first-half advantage slip, Gamble took over. A 3-pointer followed up by three-straight layups saw the West Long Branch program take its largest lead of the game, which it ultimately held on to.
Coming out of halftime, Monmouth held a narrow one-point advantage. Both teams traded points for the first minute and a half before the Hawks got going. First came two straight Dibula layups, before Kathy Kersaint and Madalena Amaro found success of their own in the paint. By the media timeout, Cait Wetmore’s team had stretched out to a nine-point advantage before Gamble drilled a trey to extend the lead even more.
The Mountain Hawks came as close as two points in the opening seconds of the final quarter, but never took a lead in the contest.
St. Bonaventure 69, Drexel 67
Drexel saw its season come to an end with a 69-67 overtime loss at the hands of St. Bonaventure in the first round of the WNIT.
The Dragons finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 21-11 record, collecting their most wins in a season since 2022-23.
Laine McGurk paced Drexel with 19 points in the contest while her teammate, Julia Garcia Roig, was the other Dragon to notch double-digit points (14). Laycee Drake was extremely effective for the Bonnies, posting 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field.
Drexel got going early, racing out to a 9-4 lead through the opening five and a half minutes. Garcia Roig had her hand in three of the Dragon’s four buckets, assisting two and scoring on one possession to push her team ahead.
By the third quarter, Drexel had extended its lead to 10 points thanks to a McGurk three with 2:22 to play in the frame. The Bonnies slowly cut into the Dragons’ lead, and by the media timeout, were trailing by just seven.
Holding Amy Mallon’s squad scoreless for the remaining 3:53 of the quarter, St. Bonaventure leveled the game at 59 and carried its momentum into overtime to earn the come-from-behind victory.