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West Long Branch, N.J. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team closes out its 2011-12 regular season with a pair of road games, beginning with a contest on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Monmouth. The Blackbirds (20-8 overall) are still in the hunt for a home game in the first round of the NEC Tournament, standing in a tie for sixth place with Mount St. Mary's at 9-7 in league. The Hawks (15-12) are one game ahead of LIU at 10-6 in the NEC, and are tied with Robert Morris and Saint Francis (Pa.) for the third spot.
Storylines
• Senior Ashley Palmer has been on a scoring spree the past four games, averaging 25.3 ppg while shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and 21-of-22 (95.4 percent) from the foul line. The 5-10 forward is just 12 points away from becoming just the fourth player in NEC history to eclipse the 2,000-point mark.
• LIU reached the 70-point plateau for the fourth time this season in the win over Sacred Heart, improving to a perfect 4-0 when eclipsing that mark. The Blackbirds have an impressive 16-1 record when scoring 60 or more points, and are just 4-7 when scoring less than 60.
• The victory over the Pioneers was the 20th of the season for LIU, marking the fourth time in program history the team has accomplished the feat. The Blackbirds have recorded 20-win campaigns in four of the last six years.
• LIU Brooklyn is one of 12 schools in NCAA Division I where both basketball programs (men's and women's) have reached 20 wins this season. As of Feb. 21, only Duke, Baylor, Ohio State, Georgetown, Cal, Kentucky, Gonzaga, San Diego St., BYU, Davidson and Middle Tennessee St. could boast the same.
Rewind: Sacred Heart
• The Blackbirds downed top-ranked Sacred Heart on Feb. 20 for their 20th win of the year.
• LIU snapped out of a recent shooting slump that saw the team register a field-goal percentage above 40 percent just twice in the prior eight games.
• Led by Ashley Palmer's 25 points, the Blackbirds shot 48.3 percent, the fifth time this season they have shot at that percentage or higher.
• Sophomore Cleandra Roberts had six steals, the highest total for an LIU player this year.
Scouting Monmouth
• The Hawks return home after a three-game road stand that saw them go 2-1 with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner, and a loss at Mount St. Mary's.
• Monmouth tied a season low with eight assists and committed 20 turnovers against the Mount.
• Alysha Womack leads the team in scoring at 14.7 ppg, while Abby Martin is the only player in double figures for the Hawks at 10.7 ppg.
• Monmouth has proven to be a tough opponent at its new home, the Multipurpose Athletic Center. The Hawks are 8-4 there this season, and is 33-10 over two-plus years at the facility.
LIU-Monmouth Series
• Monmouth took the first game between the two teams earlier this season at the WRAC, 67-57, on Jan. 14.
• LIU held a six-point halftime lead and went up by eight to start the second half, but the Hawks outscored the Blackbirds 43-27 in the second half.
• Monmouth shot an impressive 53.6 percent for the game, including 67.9 percent in the second half.
• Four players scored in double-figures for the Hawks, led by 14 from Carly Thibault. Ashley Palmer had 13 points and 12 rebounds for LIU.
The Palmer File
• Ashley Palmer earned three straight NEC Player of the Week awards bridging the 2011 and 2012 calendar years, and has won five POW awards this season. Most recently, she earned the award this past week, and has picked up weekly accolades eight times in her career.
• The 5-10 forward and three-time First Team All-NEC honoree currently leads the Blackbirds in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage.
• Including her seven Rookie of the Week honors in 2008-09, has accumulated 15 NEC weekly awards in three-plus seasons.