Monahan, Zandstra Power RedHawks to Win Over Saints

iun2In a back in forth affair that saw the IU Northwest RedHawks jump out to an early lead only to see the host Holy Cross Saints storm back with a run of their own to take a 9 point lead with less than 8 minutes remaining. At that point used the clutch performances of sophomore Nicki Monahan and Danielle Zandstra to outscore the Saints by 16 points in the final 8 minutes to escape with a 72-64 victory.

The win was the third straight for the RedHawks (6-4) who have been battle tested on the road having played just three home games through their first 10 contests. Monahan scored 18 of her season and game high 33 points in the second half in clutch fashion buying several clutch threes (6-13) and converting 11 of 12 from the line.

While Monahan was catching fire on the perimeter RedHawks senior center Danielle Zandstra was just as dominant on the inside as she converted 6-7 field goal attempts to tie a season high 18 points to go with 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals.

"Nicki (Monahan) and Danni (Zandstra) were sensational today. They came through for us again today when we needed them the most, they were clutch," said IU Northwest Head Coach Ryan Shelton.

Despite the hot start, the RedHawks held a slim 29-27 lead at the half. IU Northwest shot 36% from the floor (23-63) for the game and were 8 for 22 from the beyond the arc highlighted by Monahan's 6 treys and converted 18-24 from the line. RedHawks freshman Grayce Roach added 8 points on a pair of treys and junior center Kayce Nagel chipped in 7 points and 6 boards.

It was the sixth win of the season for IU Northwest who has now won 3 straight after a four-game skid. The RedHawks return to action this Tuesday when they host rival IU South Bend and to avenge an early season three point loss on the Titans home floor. The game tips at 7pm.