Monahan leads IUN to AII final

Nicki Monahan scored 39 points to lead top seed IU Northwest to a 95-68 victory over Johnson & Wales University in the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) Tournament in Clinton, Iowa. The RedHawks advance to the tournament final Saturday against host Ashford University, with an automatic berth in the NAIA national tournament on the line.

Monahan, a Portage graduate, set school records for most points in a postseason game and most points by a freshman. She was four points behind Sharon Houston’s school-record 43 points, set twice in 2010. The AII Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference selection said she was “really nervous” for her college postseason debut.

“It was just like sectional time in high school, you win or go home, and that makes me nervous,” Monahan said. “But then the ball gets tipped up and it’s game time and I’m good to go.”

The RedHawks (22-8) struggled to generate offense in the early going. Johnson & Wales, which came into the game ranked sixth in NAIA Division II with nine made 3-pointers per game, used its outside scoring to hold IUN down by as many as six points through much of the first half.

“Nicki kept us in the game,” RedHawks coach Ryan Shelton, the AII Coach of the Year, said. “We needed all 25 of her first-half points. She gave a sensational performance.”

IUN carved out a 43-37 halftime lead, and then opened the second half with Megan Holland, the AII Player of the Year, hitting a post-up jumper and Monahan following with a 3-pointer to spark a 10-3 run. That effectively ended the Wildcats’ season at 12-19.

“They really only have three scorers and we knew if we held them in check, we would have a great chance to win,” Shelton said.

Monahan added seven rebounds and three assists. Holland tallied 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the RedHawks.