After a near 20-point victory over St. Bonaventure, Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team lose at home to the Monmouth University Hawks 75-68, Monday night, at the Convocation Center.
“Just really disappointed in our effort as a whole,” said Eagles head coach Fred Castro.
The Eagles shot poorly from the field (32 percent), allowed 23 second chance points and allowed Monmouth to shoot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc in their loss.
Both teams struggled from the field early on, but Sasha Dailey for the Eagles was able to get the offense going. Dailey scored seven of EMU ten first quarter points as they trailed by five. The Eagles struggled on the glass allowing numerous second chance opportunities for the Hawks. Trailing 26-18 midway through first half, EMU could not take care of the ball – turning the ball over nine times before heading in the locker room trailing 37-26.
“We were on our heels when we should have been attacking their defense,” said Castro. “We were not making layups, people were wide open that weren’t finding and we just weren’t the aggressor.”
Monmouth struggled offensively, but were able to hold a double digit 37-26 lead over the Eagles thanks to Rosa Graham’s 10-point first half performance along with four assists. EMU shot only 26 percent from the field along with the lowest amount of points scored in an opening half so far this season
Opening the second half the struggles continue for EMU as they failed to hit shots in the paint and in from beyond the arc. The Eagle trailed by as many as 15 points in the third before attacking the paint and getting to the charity strike – cutting the lead to single digits.
“Obviously we made a comeback, but if we play the way to start out, I don’t think there is a comeback,” said Castro. “It takes so much energy to get back into a game that we lost our discipline late and we gave up some easy threes
Castro open the final quarter with a full-court press defense. EMU would come alive in the fourth quarter opening up an 8-0 run to cut the lead to a five-point 55-50 game. After a timeout the Eagles kept the momentum on their side and took a 57-56 lead. The Hawks would not go away as back-to-back triples from Tyese Purvis gave Monmouth the lead again.
After an EMU timeout both teams traded threes going back forth in the final four minutes of the game as Monmouth maintained the lead and the victory.
EMU struggle on glass against Monmouth and it showed – being outrebounded 53-37. “You’re not going to win any division one game when the margin is 16,” said Castro. “We have to be more discipline we got to be tougher and we play harder to begin with.
Looking forward: After this loss EMU currently sits at 4-6 and looks to bounce back as they hit the road to take on the Boilermakers of Purdue. The Boilermakers currently sit at 8-4 and are coming off a 61-27 win over North Carolina Central.
