WEST LONG BRANCH — It’s been a potential banner season for the Monmouth women’s basketball team, and the Hawks aren’t done after a 72-62 victory over Lehigh in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament on Thursday night, Match 19.
The Hawks have won 21 games on the season (21-11 overall record). After falling in the CAA quarterfinals to Stony Brook a week prior, Monmouth was contacted around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night – after the women’s NCAA Tournament was seeded – with a WNIT bid extended.
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Monmouth coach Cait Wetmore said she was excited but not surprised.
“We thought that we might (get a bid), just because our body of work with the 20 wins,” Wetmore said. “We thought we had a good shot so we kind of just told the girls we got to stay ready and you can’t go home for spring break just yet. We gave them a couple days off, we told them to be ready to go and they were.”
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The home court win was backed by Divine Dibula’s 20 points. The 6-foot-1 junior from Canada was a force inside the paint from the opening tip. She used her body to create space on the block and finish around the rim. Defensively, she also protected the rim by altering shots and bodying opposing players out of the paint.
Madalena Amaro handles the ball against Lehigh defender (March 19, 2026)
“I know they’re a tall team and they can shoot too so I know defensively was gonna be a struggle for me but I knew offensively I had the size, bigger mass, so I knew I also had to be aggressive – just like every game,” Dibula said.
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“She had an awesome week of practice so I’m not surprised that she showed up this way,” Wetmore said. “She’s just been really really focused. She has a different type of urgency about her and when she practices like that she usually plays like that so that’s been really good to see.”
Even when Lehigh went on a 9-0 run to bring down the lead to 50-48 at the top of the fourth quarter, Monmouth’s defense stood strong. Despite the disadvantage in the height department, Monmouth’s full court pressure forced turnovers. When Lehigh began to get easy buckets in the paint with back cuts and exposing mismatches, Monmouth began to double team ball handlers and get into passing lanes which was effective.
Alexis Andrews shoots jumper over Lehigh defender (March 19, 2026)
Monmouth’s starting back court combines for 36 points
Junior guard Gigi Gamble picked up two early fouls and had to sit most of the first half. When she able to play freely without the worry of foul trouble, she began to find offensive success. Gamble finished with 19 points, 13 in the fourth quarter.
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“I just knew it’s going to be our last game here, I know I was out the first half, but let me turn up and that’s what I did,” Gamble said.
In the final game of the regular season against UNCW, Gamble dropped 41 points – the second-highest single-game output by a Monmouth women’s basketball player and the most by a CAA player this season.
Gigi Gamble goes for layup against Lehigh (March 19, 2026)
Leading scorer and senior Alexis Andrews had 17 points. When Gamble went out in the first half with foul trouble, Andrews stepped up. Whether it was driving to the baskets or knocking down 3-pointers, she was effective. The back court of Monmouth showed up big on both ends of the floor when called upon.
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“That was really nice kind of pass the baton back and forth and having just pick it up when somebody else has to sit out or have an off day so, you know it’s really nice to have options,” Wetmore said. “And I think at this point in the season, everybody has to be ready to go whether it’s foul trouble or injury or whatever. We had a couple people a little bit sick, ran to the bathroom in the middle of the game with the stomach bug so everybody’s working through stuff, it’s just kind of next man up, and I thought the girls did a good job stepping up when they needed to.”
What’s next
Monmouth will hit the road to play Cleveland State on Monday at 7 p.m. This is the third WNIT appearance in program history, second in the last three seasons. There’s already a banner of Monmouth making the WNIT in 2011. It’s only been Wetmore’s second season but she’s been making the most of it and has no plans to stop.
“I’m proud of the girls,” Wetmore said. “We’re trying to take it one game at a time. I thought they did a really nice job focusing on this game, not getting distracted by anything else so, we’re going to Cleveland State this weekend, take that this weekend and see where we go.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth women’s basketball beats Lehigh in WNIT
