HAWKS DOWN SAINT PETER’S IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE, 76-59

JERSEY CITY, NJ – The Monmouth University women's basketball team outscored Saint Peter's 26-9 in the second quarter and never looked back, defeating the Peacocks 76-59 on Saturday. The Hawks secure the No. 4 seed in the upcoming MAAC Championships, and will face No. 5 Canisius next Saturday in Albany, NY. Junior Alexa Middleton registered her sixth double-double of the season with 3:47 left in the second quarter. Middleton ended with 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Freshman Lucy Thomas notched a career-high 21 points in the win, shooting 8-14 from the floor. Junior Sierra Greenbroke the single-season program record for three-pointers, hitting four more today to increase her total to 96. The previous mark was 93, set in 2016-17. Monmouth ends the regular season with a 13-16 (9-9 MAAC) record, and its fourth-place finish is the program's highest in six MAAC seasons. NOTES AND QUOTES "This was huge. We just wanted to control what we can control. We knew we had to win this game to have a chance at a bye. It's a huge tribute to our program, to go from the nine seed last year to the fourth seed this year. We've put in a lot of work to get us there, but we still have a lot of work to do." - Monmouth head coach Jody Craig -Junior Adriana Zelaya hit her second triple of the season to put Monmouth up 6-4 midway through the first quarter. -Saint Peter's went on a quick 5-0 run towards the end of the first, taking an 11-7 lead. -Zelaya's second three-pointer of the first quarter put the Hawks back ahead 12-11 by the end of the frame. -Monmouth stormed out to a 29-16 lead midway through the second quarter, making seven of its first 11 shots. -The Hawks would eventually outscore Saint Peter's 26-9 in the quarter, and took a 38-20 lead into halftime. The Blue & White went 11-20 (55%) in the breakout frame. -A 5-0 run from the Peacocks cut their deficit to 40-27 in the third, but the Hawks quickly answered and later used a 7-0 run to go ahead 52-31. -The Peacocks hit a buzzer-beating triple, but Monmouth still led 54-39 at the end of three. -Green hit three straight triples in 1:11 to open the fourth, putting Monmouth up 63-41. -Monmouth kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way, eventually taking the 17-point win. NUMBERS CRUNCH -Prior to the three-point record (93) set in 2016-17, the mark was set in 1990-91 with 80. Green sets the new mark with 96, and still has at least one postseason game remaining. -Middleton's previous career-high in rebounds was set just 11 days ago, with 17 against Saint Peter's at home. -Thomas went into double-figures for the 14th time this season. Her previous career-high was 20 points, set at Niagara eight days ago. -Green went into double-figures for the team-leading 21st time this season. -Zelaya scored a season-high eight points. -Monmouth shot 45.2% and held Saint Peter's to 38.3%. -The Hawks went 8-17 (47.1%) from three-point range. UP NEXT The Hawks will play No. 5 Canisius on Saturday in the MAAC Quarterfinals. The teams split during the regular season, including Monmouth's 67-61 win in West Long Branch. Last season in the first round of the MAAC Championships, Monmouth overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat the Gol