UMBC

Crowell scored a game-high 25 points

BALTIMORE – UMBC senior guard Brittany Crowell (Brandywine, Md./Gwynn Park/James Madison) reset her career-high with 25 points and was one of three Retrievers in double-figures as UMBC held off Monmouth for a 71-68 victory in its women’s basketball home opener on Sunday afternoon at the RAC Arena.  

The Retrievers (1-1) pick up their first victory of 2012-13, while Monmouth (0-1) drops its season opener.

Crowell wasted no time recovering from Friday’s 3-for-15 shooting performance at Morgan State, scoring 11 of UMBC’s first 16 points – going two-for-three from behind the arc – to put the Retrievers out in front by five, 16-11.

UMBC continued to push forward and took advantage of seven missed shots and three turnovers during a 5:13 span by the Hawks to take a 27-15 advantage with 8:51 to go in the half.

The Retrievers cooled off, missing five-straight shots, allowing Monmouth to work its way back into the contest. MU scored 11 of the next 14 points, including a three-point play from the Hawks leading scorer senior guard Alysha Womack and an offensive rebound and put back from senior forward Abigail Martin, to bring MU within four, 28-24. The black and gold responded with a three from Crowell – her fourth of the first half – and a pair of layups from senior guard Raven Harris (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne/American), to extend to lead back to eight, 37-29.

UMBC connected on five long balls in the opening half, but it was Monmouth who drained a pair of treys on back-to-back possessions to end the half with a five-point deficit, 40-35. The Retrievers turned the Hawks over 13 times in the first half, but used 11 second chance points – outrebounding UMBC 23-12 – to keep the game close. Crowell scored 16 of her 25 points in the first stanza.

Sophomore guard Lauren Chase (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist), who tallied 13 of her game-high 18 points in the second half of Friday’s game, piloted the Retrievers out of the break, scoring the Retrievers first six points, while Crowell followed with a jumper and a three to put UMBC out in front by nine, 51-42. Chase would finish with 15 points on the afternoon, all coming in the second half.

The Hawks were not ready to go down quietly, tying the game for the first time since the 18:30 mark of the first half on a layup from red-shirt sophomore forward Sara English, however Chase and Crowell were there again to give UMBC a five-point cushion with 2:01 to play.

Down six with 28 seconds remaining, the Hawks picked up a quick bucket on a drive from Womack and followed with a steal by senior forward Betsy Gadziala and another Womack layup, pulling Monmouth within two with 17 seconds remaining. MU chose to foul Chase prior to the ball being thrown in and the reigning America East Rookie of the Year sunk one of two free throws, to put UMBC up three. Monmouth was able to get off a three-point attempt from junior guard Nikki Lentini, but the attempt was too strong.   

Womack finished the afternoon with a team-best 21 points, while red-shirt junior Chevannah Paalvast poured in 19 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Gadziala and Martin each pulled down double-digit rebounds in the losing effort, tallying 13 and 11, respectively.

Harris added 12 points for the Retrievers and a team-best seven steals.

UMBC returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 14, as Coppin State visits the RAC Arena for a 7 p.m. tip.

Dawg Notes:
-Senior guard Brittany Crowell notched the first 20-point performance of her career, ending with 25 points. Crowell was named America East Player of the Game.
-Senior guard Raven Harris led the team in steals for the second-straight game, matching a career-high with seven steals - the first Retriever to have more than five steals in a game since Michelle Kurowski registered five on Nov. 27, 2011.
-MU senior forward Betsy Gadziala (13) and senior forward Abigail Martin (11) combined for 24 rebounds against the Retrievers. It marked the first time since Jan. 22, 2012 that two opposing players pulled down double-digit rebounds against UMBC.
-In two games this season, UMBC sophomore Lauren Chase is averaging 14.0 points in the second half, as opposed to 2.5 points per game in the first half.
-UMBC forced Monmouth into 22 turnovers, the most a UMBC opponenet has turned over the ball since Feb. 25, 2012 against Binghamton (22).
-Sophomore guard/forward Ashley Lambert scoured a career-high eight points, while logging a career-high 24 minutes of action.