Led by explosive offensive performance in the second half, FDU took down Monmouth, 63-50, on Saturday afternoon at the Bogota Savings Bank Center in Hackensack.
FDU started slow, missing their first five shots, four of them from beyond the arc. While they struggled on offense, the defense held Monmouth to just two points early in the first quarter, as both teams combined for nine turnovers. Reese Downey’s three at the 4:35 mark of the quarter put the Knights on the board as the action picked up in the latter half of the opening quarter.
Monmouth’s passing prowess was on display at various points in the quarter, but many shots weren’t successful as the inside was crowded with FDU players. By the end of the quarter, the Knights (5-3) led 10-9.
By the middle of the second quarter, both teams had reached their first-quarter totals, as the tempo changed drastically in the second. FDU and Monmouth were each shooting over 60 percent from the field as the Knights picked up four assists on their four baskets as the quarter reached the under-five-minute media timeout. Divine Dibula was proving to be a thorn in the side of FDU as Monmouth’s 6’1″ forward started to assert her dominance down low in the first half, scoring seven points.
A three-pointer from Akeelah Lafleur with 3:08 remaining before halftime put FDU up 24-20, indicating that the offense was no longer struggling as it had at the start. However, after Lafleur’s shot, FDU went scoreless for over three minutes, but Monmouth (2-4) also failed to score to end the first half, with the Knights leading 24-22 at halftime. Downey led the Knights with eight points, while Dibula finished with seven points and three rebounds for Monmouth. Both teams shot 40 percent from the field, but with a combined 19 turnovers in the first half, both sides missed out on additional scoring opportunities.
Leah Crosby came out for the second half on fire, hitting two treys and fueling a 14-0 FDU run to extend their lead to 32-24 at the 7:05 mark of the third quarter. Monmouth went cold after Alexis Davis made an early layup in the quarter, going over six minutes without a field goal and committing five turnovers during that span.
Ava Renninger started 2-of-8 from the field but started to feel it as she hit two threes to push the FDU lead to 18 points, forcing Monmouth to take a timeout with 1:50 left in the third quarter. The onslaught continued for the remainder of the quarter as FDU held Monmouth to just six points. The Knights shot 71 percent from beyond the arc and led 49-28 after three quarters of play in Hackensack.
The fourth quarter was a foregone conclusion as the Knights maintained pressure on defense and Monmouth struggled to score in the final period. After a deep three from Renninger to make it 57-30, the game was mostly over, aside from giving some reserves some court time as FDU wrapped up the second-half domination at home, where they have not lost a game since February of 2024.
Renninger finished with 18 points and six assists to lead the Knights as she played the entire game. Crosby and Lafleur each scored 11 points while Reese Downey added 10 points and four rebounds for FDU.
Dibula scored 17 points for Monmouth, and Davis poured in 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Hawks, who committed 18 turnovers that led to 21 points for FDU.
What’s Next For FDU And Monmouth
FDU returns to action on Thursday as it welcomes Lafayette to Hackensack at 7 p.m. Monmouth heads back home to West Long Branch to host another in-state rival in NJIT on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the OceanFirst Bank Center.
