COLLEGE BASKETBALL: OWEGO GRAD DONOVAN CONTRIBUTES TO MONMOUTH TITLE RUN (2023-03-13)

Tioga County Sports Report
TOWSON, Md. — Former Owego standout Kaci Donovan pulled down four rebounds, scored two points and grabbed one steal as the 7th-seeded Monmouth University women's basketball team upset top-seeded Towson University, 80-55, to win its first Colonial Athletic Association championship Sunday.

With the victory the Hawks earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win and will play in the tournament for the first time since 1983.

Monmouth guards Bri Tinsley and Ariana Vanderhoop scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, and Jania Hall added 14 more.

The Hawks opened the game with a 15-2 run and led 22-14 after one period of play.

The Tigers trimmed the lead to 28-27 with 5:44 left in the half, but Monmouth pushed its advantage to 44-34 at the break.

The Hawks shot 6-for-8 from the floor and went 12-for-13 at the foul line in the fourth quarter.

For the game, Monmouth (18-15) outrebounded Towson, 40-26, and went 21-for-27 at the charity stripe.

The Hawks defeated College of Charleston in the second round, 69-54, then topped No. 2 Drexel, 65-59, and No. 3 Northeastern, 73-60, to reach the final.

Donovan, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, scored a team-high 14 points against both Charleston and Northeastern. For the tournament, she had 39 points, 12 rebounds, five steals, one block and one assist.

For the season, she has scored 285 points, giving her 526 in two seasons as a Hawk (she played in nine games as a freshman at Penn State). She has 83 career 3-pointers, 170 rebounds, 50 assists, 36 steals and 21 blocks.

Monmouth will face Tennessee Tech (21-9) in a First Four game Thursday. The game will air on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. EST. The winner faces Indiana in the first round Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EST on ESPN2.