NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 15, 2022 – Playing for the first time in over a month, the Monroe College Mustangs women's basketball team dropped a challenging matchup to Union County College, 60-48, Saturday afternoon at the Monroe Athletic Complex as part of the Monroe College MLK Classic. The Mustangs fall to 5-10 overall with the loss, while the Owls improve to 13-1.
The Owls had the advantage early on in Saturday's contest, jumping out to a 6-0 lead right off the bat. The Mustangs were down by six again at 13-7 before
Daja Wentz drained a three, and then
Sara Carvajal-Caro made a layup to get within a point. The Owls went back up by five before
Olivia Medford made a two, followed by a three-pointer from
Aysia Pink just before the end of the quarter, sending the game to the second knotted up at 17-17.
Union County once again came out firing in the second stanza, scoring the first eight points to go up, 25-17. The Owls were up, 29-21, with 2:54 left before the break, but the Mustangs tallied the final five points of the half to trail, 29-26, at halftime.
Medford led Monroe with 11 points after the first 20 minutes.
Kayla Segree had a team-high seven rebounds to go with two points and two assists.
Aysia Pink added five points and an assist.
It was all Union County for the first half of the third frame, as the visitors went on a 16-2 run across the first 5:31 of the second half to take a 45-28 lead before the Mustangs called a timeout. A jumper by Medford broke the streak, but Samira Sargent came back with a three for Union County to go up by 18. The Mustangs scored the final five points of the period, sending the game to the fourth with Union County up, 48-35.
Monroe opened the fourth with five straight points to get back within eight with 9:03 left to play in regulation. Both teams traded baskets twice over after that, reaching a 52-44 lead for the Owls with 4:10 on the clock. The Owls picked up the next five points to go back up by 13, leading to the visitors hanging on for the 60-48 win.
Medford finished with a game-high 18 points, adding six board and four steals. Segree fell just short of a double-double with eight points and a game-best 13 rebounds. Segree also added three assists and three blocked shots. Wentz totaled seven points, three steals and three rebounds in the game.
The Mustangs will look to bounce back on Sunday, Jan. 16, when they host Div. II No. 19 SUNY Sullivan in the final game of the MLK Classic. The game is set to tip off at 5 p.m.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 14 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at
www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
