BOX SCORE

West Long Branch, NJ - Monmouth took the lead early in the first half and was never really threatened en route to a 69-56 victory over Wagner in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the MAC Center. The Hawks improve to 14-11 and 9-5 in the NEC while the Green & White fall to 9-16 and 6-8 in the NEC.

For the Seahawks, who were playing without injured starters senior Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) and junior Sha'Ron Harrison (Paterson, NJ / John F. Kennedy), it was their 18th-straight loss in the Garden State, having last won on February 7, 2005 at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Junior Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the year with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Classmate Megan Mahoney (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) also had a strong game, contributing 15 points, on 6-of-10 shooting, despite being plagued by foul trouble.

In defeat, Wagner shot a solid 42.1 percent (24-57), including 45.2 percent (14-31) in the second half, while outscoring Monmouth in the paint (28-16). The Hawks hit on 40.7 percent (22-54), including 41.2 percent (7-17) from beyond the arc while the Seahawks made good on just 1-of-5 (20.0 %). Monmouth also made 18-of-24 (75.0 %) from the charity stripe while the Green & White were 7-of-9 (77.8 %).

After Mahoney scored four of the game's first six points, Monmouth ripped off 10-straight points, taking a 12-4 lead with 11:22 to go in the first half. Wagner would rally with an 8-2 run over the next 3:26, cutting the deficit to 14-12 with 8:00 to go as freshman Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec / Montmorency) started and capped the spurt with buckets.

The Hawks immediately answered with 10-straight points while fueling a 17-4 spurt and pushing the lead out to a half-high 15 at 31-16 with 2:36 to go. The Seahawks would get the lead whittled down to nine at 31-22 with 1:26 on the clock before Monmouth scored the final three points, taking a 34-22 lead into intermission.

Wagner shot a solid 38.5 percent (10-26) from the floor in the opening half, but attempted just one three pointer and three free throws.

Monmouth, meanwhile, connected on 40.7 percent (11-27) from the floor, 50.0 percent (4-8) from long range and 72.7 percent (8-11) from the line.

The Seahawks started out strong after intermission, going on a 7-3 run to cut the deficit to eight at 37-29. The Hawks answered with an Alysha Womack jumper before pushing the lead out to a game-high 15 at 48-33 with 12:13 to play.

Wagner responded with nine-straight points en route to an 11-2 run, cutting the lead to 50-44 with 7:56 to go in the game. Unfortunately for the Green & White, Womack answered with a jumper as Monmouth never let the lead dip below eight the rest of the way.

Womack scored 16 of her team-high 18 points in the second stanza while Erin Rooney (12 points) and Chanel Gomez (12 points) each notched double-digits, pacing the Hawks.

Wagner hosts Bryant on Thursday, February 18 at 5:00 pm in the Spiro Sports Center.

NOTES: Olsen has now hit for double-digits five times in the last seven games after failing to do so in the previous 11 games … This was the sixth time she has led the squad in scoring … Monmouth has now won 13 of the last 14 meetings and leads the overall series by a 38-23 count … This was the only meeting between the teams this season … Archambault recorded a career-high five assists.