Blackbirds Drop Monmouth, 80-70;LIU Advances to NEC Semifinals

(boxscore)

3/4/06 -- Long Island University moves on the second round of Northeast Conference championship play after defeating Monmouth, 80-70 on Saturday evening in Boylan Gym.

Senior Amber Wirth (Hastings, Minn.) led the way with 17 points.

Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) and Brittani Kozik (Belle Plaine, Iowa) netted 15 points apiece, while juniors Marquita Thompson (Garland, Texas) and Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) added 10 and 11 points, respectively.

The Blackbirds (15-14, 12-7 NEC) tallied 19 points from 15 Monmouth turnovers, while only committing two, a season-low. The LIU bench outscored the Hawks 36-12.

With 15:15 showing, the Blackbirds went on a 9-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Kozik to give the visitors an 18-13 lead.

LIU continued to roll as Thompson went coast–to-coast, pushing the advantage to 10 (27-17). The Blackbirds led, 39-30 at the break.

The Hawks opened the second frame with a 6-2 spurt, cutting the margin to five (41-36), however LIU never lost momentum, building an 18-point edge with 9:02 remaining.

The Blackbirds maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second stanza, taking the victory and advancing to the NEC semifinals.

LIU will face top-seeded Sacred Heart on Tuesday, March 7. in Fairfield, Conn.