Lubbock, Texas – The Monroe College Women's Basketball team saw their season come to an end on Monday with an 85-73 setback to South Plains College in the opening round of the NJCAA Basketball Championship. A season after winning just ten games, the Mustangs earned Region and District Championship titles, won an automatic bid to the National Championship Tournament, and finished the year with 21 victories.
 
Monroe entered the tournament seeded 24^th, while the Lady Texans were ranked 9^th. Despite being the underdogs, Monroe came out like a stampede, jumping out to an 8-2 lead with plays from All-Region players Cristina Soriano and Shania Johnson and a bucket from Lisana Burnett. The Mustangs kept the lead for the entire first quarter. A Jessica DeGree layup with 1:50 on the clock made the score 17-11. The Mustangs' spirited defensive play caused seven turnovers from South Plains in the opening ten minutes.
 
The Lady Texans took control in the second quarter. They opened the quarter with a 7-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. Monroe answered with a DeGree basket to regain the lead, 19-18, with 7:04 left. Later in the quarter, reserve guard Jada Banks buried a three-pointer to tie the score at 24-24. A Johnson three-pointer at 2:43 gave Monroe its final lead of the quarter, 28-27. South Plains led at the break, 37-31.
 
The Lady Texans scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to push the lead into double digits, at 42-31. Just when it looked like the Mustangs were going to fold, the team used an 8-2 run to pull within five points, at 44-39. Banks, Soriano, and Burnett accounted for all the points in the scoring spree. Banks left the game at 7:03 in the third with a leg injury, and was sorely missed on the offensive end. South Plains led 60-52 after three quarters.
 
Monroe nearly came back in the fourth. Trailing 70-64, Johnson buried a three-pointer. Aneisha Lyons stole a pass on the ensuing South Plains possession and finished the fast break with a bucket from Burnett. The Mustangs trailed by just one point, 70-69. Monroe got within a single possession once more in the quarter. In the end, #9 South Plains, playing in front of a hometown crowd, prevailed over the 24^th seeded Mustangs, 85-73.
 
Johnson led the team with 19 points, six assists, and seven steals. She had as many steals as the entire South Plains side. Soriano had another double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Burnett scored 10 points, and Banks came off the bench to score 15. The Monroe College Women's Basketball team completed the year with a 21-7 overall record.