January 7, 2011 HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac University women's basketball team won, 60-57, against Monmouth in its third Northeast Conference match-up of the season. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 6-8 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Hawks fall to 10-4 on the year and 2-1 in the NEC.

"To date this is our biggest win going forward," said Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri. "Getting a huge, tough-fought road win, against a talented Monmouth team, who's off to their best start in school history, and considering the MAC day in front of a tremendous atmosphere, with over 1,000 people in the stands, shows were really pointing in the right direction and starting to understand what it takes to be a team."

Overall, the Bobcats outshot the Hawks, shooting 39.2 percent from the floor. Junior forward Jacinda Dunbar (Edison, N.J.) scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Bobcats in its third-straight victory. In addition, freshman Brittany McQuain (Independence, Mo.) compiled a career-high 13 points. Dunbar, McQuain, and senior Lailah Pratt (Palmyra, N.J.) each pulled-down four rebounds.

Quinnipiac's impressive defensive efforts forced Monmouth to make 22 turnovers, while the Bobcats had only 12 turnovers in the game. "Our defensive game-plan was the deciding factor in today's game, said Fabbri. "The girls went out and executed beautifully on defense and we were able to really shut down their top players in the second half.

The Bobcats took the lead early, 6-0, with 17:37 on the clock as Dunbar collected four points and Felicia Barron (Springfield, Mass.) scored two points on the run. The Hawks responded with a 6-0 run, as Erin Rooney and Alysha Womack each finished two three-pointers.

Monmouth took an eight point lead, 18-10, its biggest lead of the game, on a 12-4 run with just under 12 minutes remaining in the half. Quinnipiac answered with its biggest run of the half, 7-0, as Kari Goodchild (Van Horne, Iowa) scored a shot from behind the arc.

Both teams continued to battle down the stretch as neither team could collect more than two points on a run. With the Hawks ahead, 24-21, with just over three minutes to play, Shelby Sferra (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) scored back-to-back field goals for the Bobcats to take back the lead by one point. With only five seconds remaining, Lisa Lebak (Robbinsville, N.J.) hit a layup to end the half with Quinnipiac leading by one point, 27-26.

Overall, Quinnipiac scored 13 points off Monmouth's 10 turnovers in the first half. The Bobcats' bench continued to play a factor, scoring 10 points in the first twenty minutes of play. Dunbar led with 10 points in the first half, while Alysha Womack led the Hawks with 13 points. The Bobcats went on to hold Womack to only three points in the second half.

The second half was a game of free throws, as the Hawks scored 15-of-18 points from the foul line, while Quinnipiac compiled 17-of-23 from the line, as Dunbar made 7-of-8 in the second half.

The Bobcats took their biggest lead of the game, 13 points, as the scoreboard read 52-39, with just over five minutes to play in the game. The Hawks came back within two points, 59-57, with 47 seconds remaining as Gabby Singer hit a shot from behind the arc. With only seven seconds left to play, senior Courtney Kaminski (Dudley, Mass.) finished a free throw, to end the game, 60-57.

Quinnipiac will play Fairleigh Dickinson in a Northeast Conference contest at the Stratis Arena in Hackensack, N.J. on Monday, Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m.