Columbia
Monmouth
Women's Basketball Clipped by Monmouth, 67-64
12/5/2010 4:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK -- Senior Kathleen Barry registered a game-high 18 points and first-year Courtney Bradford had a stellar game with a career-best 13 points off the bench, but the Columbia women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 67-64 decision to Monmouth on Sunday afternoon at the Multipurpose Athletic Center.
The Lions battled all afternoon and had a chance to tie the contest with a three-pointer in the final seconds but could not find the range as they fall to 0-7 on the year.
Columbia jumped out to a great start for the second straight game, as the visitors scored the first seven points to take an early lead. Monmouth's Alyssa Womack would respond with nine of the next 11 points of the contest and a three-pointer by the reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year knotted the score at 9-9 with 12:09 left in the opening half.
The score would remain close over the next six minutes before a 7-0 run by the Hawks extended their lead to 30-22 at the 3:59 mark. From there, Bradford became the focal point of the Columbia offense and came through in a big way. The Alpharetta, Ga. native scored on a variety of post moves and short jumpers, and reeled off eight straight Columbia points to cut the deficit to five.
After a defensive stop with just under a minute remaining in the stanza, sophomore Tyler Simpson converted a three-point play to pull Columbia to within 37-35 with 47 ticks left in the first half. A three from Carly Thibault bumped the Hawk cushion back to five with 28 seconds, and Barry corraled an offensive rebound and cashed in the putback chance to conclude the scoring in the period.
The Lions shot an impressive 57.1 percent from the floor in the first half but were hurt by 10 turnovers. In contrast, Monmouth had just two flubs in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Monmouth started the second half with a flurry and extended its lead to 46-37 on a layup by Erin Rooney. The Lions fired back with a 9-0 run of their own that was highlighted by five consecutive points by first-year Taylor Ward. Ward stole an inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup, then splashed a three from the right wing to tie the game at 46-all.
The game of runs would continue, as the Hawks scored the next five points to build a 51-46 lead with 12:21 left in the second half. Columbia responded once again with a spurt of its own, this time scoring eight straight -- four by Barry -- to take its largest lead since the opening minutes at 54-51 with 9:55 remaining.
Rooney, who scored 10 of her 12 points after the halftime break, had six of her team's next eight points and regained a 59-54 cushion for the home squad with 5:30 left. Another old-fashioned three-point play, this one from Monmouth's Womack, put the score at 64-57 with 3:46 left.
But the Lions would not go down without one final push, and a three from Barry and a layup by Bradford pulled them to within two with just under two minutes to play. A Monmouth score re-upped its lead to four, before senior Lauren Dwyer made a leaning jumper in the lane to cut the advantage to just two with just over a minute on the clock.
After a blocked shot and rebound by Dwyer got the Lions in a position to tie or take the lead, Bradford was fouled underneath on a nice move in the paint. The first-year couldn't find the range from the charity stripe on either attempt, and the Hawks' Gena Broadus made just one of two at the other end. With 12 seconds remaining, the Lions pushed the ball up the floor needing a three to tie. Ward got off a desperation three-pointer that fell short as time expired.
Columbia returns home on Thursday, Dec. 9 against Fairfield. Tipoff at Levien Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
