Box Score
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WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Led by a strong start, and career highs from three different players, the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team had its first victory of the season, 67-52 over Monmouth, Saturday afternoon at the MAC. Senior Cleandra Roberts led the Blackbirds, tying her career high with 23 points, while junior Letava Whippy had a career-high 18 points, and freshman Aleisha Myers went 3-for-5 from behind the arc for a career-high 13 points.
LIU shot 51 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range, both season highs for the team, and 81 percent from the free throw line. The team also scored more than 60 points for the first time this season, and had 34 points in the first half, the most first half points by the team this year.
The Blackbirds dominated the first half of the game. Monmouth took a lead, 4-2 at 18:19, but LIU answered with an 8-0 run that lasted three and a half minutes. Junior Kelly Robinson made both her free throws to start the run at the 17:45 mark. Senior Cleandra Roberts, junior Letava Whippy and freshman Aleisha Myers all contributed in the run, putting LIU up 10-4.
Monmouth would score six points to close the lead to 12-10 at the 11:35 mark, but from there, it was all about the Blackbirds. LIU would outscore Monmouth 22-8 in the rest of the first half, including an 11-0 run.
Sophomore Sophie Bhasin sparked the run at 11:01, when she made a driving layup, and converted the and-one, to make it 15-10. Whippy put the momentum firmly on the Blackbirds' side of the court, when she stole the ball on the next inbounds play, and put in a layup before the Hawks knew what was happening. Bhasin capped the first part of the run with back-to-back three pointers, widening LIU's lead to 23-10 with 9:34 left to play.
From there, neither team would score a field goal for almost five minutes, until 4:58, when Roberts hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. Monmouth went 10 minutes without a field goal in the second half until they made a layup at the 1:19 mark. Whippy ended the half in strong form for LIU, making back-to-back jumpers to put LIU up, 34-18 at the halfway mark.
The Blackbirds shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, holding Monmouth to just seven total field goals, and a 27 percent team shooting average.
In the second half, Monmouth was able to get an offensive going, but the defense couldn't slow Blackbird shooters. LIU continued to lead throughout the second half, never letting the lead dip below double-digits.
Myers came alive in the final 15 minutes of the game, making back-to-back three pointers to help LIU go up, 50-28 with just over 10 minutes left to play. And Roberts couldn't miss, as the senior went 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line, to score 14 of her 23 points in the second stanza.
Whippy had a layup at 6:14, to give LIU a 23-point lead, the widest by the team so far this year, 59-36.
Monmouth made a late run, as the Hawks put together a final push in the last three minutes. A 9-2 run by the Hawks to cut the lead to 14 points, 61-47 with just under two minutes left to play, but it was the closest they would come.
Roberts was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to widen LIU's lead back up to 20, 67-47 with 35 seconds left. Monmouth senior Chevannah Paalvast would score five of her 18 points in the final thirty seconds, including a three-pointer as the clock, expired, but the damage was done, and LIU took the win, 67-52.
The Blackbirds now have a 14-day break from game action. LIU is next in action at Grand Canyon University, Saturday, December 28.