MONMOUTH PULLS AHEAD IN SECOND HALF TO DEFEAT UNCW 72-61

MONMOUTH PULLS AHEAD IN SECOND HALF TO DEFEAT UNCW 72-61

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Ben Kane

 
HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY | PRESS CONFERENCE- MONMOUTH | PRESS CONFERENCE UNCW
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 12, 2026) – – Fifth-seeded Monmouth shot 56.7% in the second half and pulled away for a 72-61 victory over No. 13 UNCW in the second round of the Credit Union 1 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship on Thursday afternoon at CareFirst Arena.
 
The Hawks (20-10) advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight year and will face No. 4 Stony Brook at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. UNCW closed the season with a 7-24 mark.
 
All-CAA guard GiGi Gamble led a balanced scoring effort for Monmouth with 17 points. Divine Dibula contributed 16 points and eight rebounds and the Hawks got 13 points apiece from Alexis Andrews and Kathy Kersaint.
 
UNCW was paced by a team-high 18 points and five assists from Icyss Storm. Mary Ferrito tallied 12 points while Kylah Silver and Corrie McLaughlin each added 10.
 
The game was at 45-45 with two minutes left in the third quarter, but Monmouth closed the period on a 9-2 run capped by a steal and layup at the buzzer by Andrews to go up 54-47. The Hawks pushed the margin to 13 (62-49) on an Ella Farrelly layup with 6:04 remaining and didn’t let UNCW get closer than nine the rest of the way. 
 
UNCW held a 16-13 lead at the end of the first quarter behind the play of Storm. The freshman forward scored the first five points of the game and finished the period with 12 points on 5-of-7 FG shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. The teams traded the lead four times and were tied twice in the opening 10 minutes.
 
The contest stayed tight throughout the second quarter. A trey from Gamble gave Monmouth a one-point advantage and kickstarted a 7-1 run that put the Hawks ahead, 26-21, following a Kersaint layup with 4:18 left in the period. Five straight points from the Seahawks’ Ferrito tied it up, but two buckets from Dibula down the stretch helped Monmouth take a 31-29 lead into halftime.
The third quarter featured a series of runs from both teams. The Hawks put together an early 12-5 spurt that included six points from Dibula and four from Gamble to take their largest lead, 45-37, midway through the frame. However, UNCW answered with eight consecutive points and evened the game at 45-45 on a Torin Rogers layup with 2:13 to go in the period. From there, Monmouth used its quarter-ending spurt to take command of the contest
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Monmouth made 15 steals and was able to force 23 Seahawks’ turnovers. The Hawks also had a 38-25 rebounding advantage, with 18 of the caroms coming on the offensive end.
 
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