Box Score WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth hit its free throws late in the second half to give the host Hawks a 69-62 win over the Norfolk State women's basketball team in the Hawk Holiday Classic Thursday afternoon at the Mulipurpose Activity Center.

The Spartans used a couple of late runs to cut into Hawk deficits as the second stanza ticked down. NSU, though, could not get over the hump as the Hawks hit 7-of-8 free throws in the last minute of play to ice the win.

NSU never held the lead in the second half, but the Spartans never led the Hawks get up by more than nine points throughout the game.

Monmouth went to 4-8 on the year, while NSU fell below .500 at 5-6 despite having the edge in most statistical category. The Spartans only connected on 1-of-11 from long range (9.1 percent), and 13-of-23 from the free throw line (56.5 percent) for what was essentially the difference in the game.

Junior Batavia Owens tallied a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Rae Corbo was the only other Spartan in double figures with 10 points. Recca Trice had game highs of six assists and four steals.

Monmouth hit 24-of-30 from the free throw line, including 14-of-16 in the second half, and was 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. The two teams shot nearly identical from the floor, as the Spartans connected on 24-of-65 (36.9 percent), compared to 21-of-57 (36.8 percent) for the Hawks.

Chevannah Paalvast led the way with 16 points for Monmouth. Alexis Canady and Gabby Singer totaled 13 and 11, respectively.

Senior Whitney Long and junior Ebony Brown each had nine points, and junior Marian Brooks contributed eight for NSU. Long also had four assists, and sophomore Rachel Gordon grabbed six boards.

A trey from Canady allowed the Hawks to build an early 9-4 lead five minutes into the first half. Both teams struggled with their shooting early on, but NSU started to catch fire after the midway point of the half. Brown showed her range by hitting a pair of long-range jumpers nearly a minute apart to keep NSU within a basket's score.

Brooks gave the Spartans their first lead of the game with a fastbreak layup at the 8:04 mark, and Owens stretched the lead to the largest of the game for NSU, 19-15, with a basket down low a minute and a half later. Owens hit two more baskets before the end of the half, but Monmouth ended the first stanza on a 9-2 run for a five-point lead at the break, 31-26.

The teams combined to shoot just slightly better than 31 percent in the first half, with Canady leading Monmouth with eight points and Brooks adding seven for NSU. The Hawks scored 10 points in the stanza from 10 offensive boards and had a 17-10 advantage in second-chance points for the game.

After a couple of baskets by Brown and Owens to start the second half, Trice nailed a 3-pointer from the right side to tie it up at 34-34 at the 16:52 mark, forcing a Monmouth timeout. Paalvast, though, added a couple of baskets right after that to give the Hawks the lead again.

Singer sank a pair of free throws after two straight baskets by Paalvast to give the Hawks the largest lead of game, 48-39, with 8:58 left. The Hawks used a 14-5 run during an eight-minute stretch to get the lead up to nine at that point.

The Spartans, or more specifically Long, chipped away at the lead with a 12-5 run, as she hit a pair of jumpers and two free throws to get the deficit down to two, 53-51, with 5:14 left in the game. Moore tied it up 30 seconds later with a pair of free throws, but a 9-1 run by Monmouth right after that put the Spartans right back into a hole.

Corbo sank a pair of shots to cut into the deficit, and Owens got NSU to within two at 62-60 with 54.4 seconds to go to end a quick 6-0 run, but the Spartans missed a pair of 3-pointers and committed two turnovers late. Monmouth converted its shots from the charity stripe in the last minute of play for the win.

NSU held a 45-42 edge on the boards and also had more blocks (3-2) and steals (10-4).

Paalvast also had a team-leading four assists for Monmouth, and Gena Broadus had eight boards.

NSU will next face the loser of the St. Bonaventure-Villanova game Friday at 2 p.m.