LUBBOCK, Texas, March 15, 2022 – Two years in the making, the Monroe College Mustangs women's basketball team finally gets its shot at the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Championship Tournament beginning this Wednesday, March 16. The Mustangs come in as the No. 24 seed, and open the tournament against No. 9 South Georgia Technical College on Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
2022 NJCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Championship
Wednesday, March 16 – Monday, March 21
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
 
NJCAA Championship Central
NJCAA Championship Bracket
 
Live Coverage:
NJCAA Network (Pay-Per-View)
Live Stats (Monroe vs. South Georgia Tech)
 
FIRST ROUND:
#24 Monroe College vs. #9 South Georgia Technical College
Wednesday, March 16 – 1:00 PM EST
 
SECOND ROUND:
The winner of #24 Monroe vs. #9 South Georgia Tech will take on #8 Arizona Western College, which earned one of eight first-round byes.
Thursday, March 17 – 5:00 PM EST
 
WHAT COMES NEXT:
The winner of the second-round matchup will play in Game 17 of the tournament on Saturday, March 19, at 2 p.m. EST, in a quarterfinal matchup. The winner will then go on to Game 21 in the semifinal round on Sunday, March 20, at 5 p.m. EST. The Championship Game will then be played on Monday, March 21, at 8 p.m. EST.
 
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2020
At the end of the 2019-20 regular season, the Mustangs were the Region 15 and Northeast District Champions, earning their automatic bid into the 2020 NJCAA Championship Tournament. They were announced for the selection show and were set to travel to Lubbock, but the looming COVID-19 pandemic was starting to make its mark on the country, hitting New York right before the Mustangs were set for their trip, forcing Monroe to pull out of the tournament just before it was canceled outright. The Mustangs have been waiting two years to make up for that lost opportunity, and that time is now upon us.
 
MONROE VS. SOUTH GEORGIA TECH BACK IN NOVEMBER
The Mustangs and Jets played back on Nov. 20 at the Tallahassee Classic. South Georgia Tech won the game, 58-47.
 
The November contest in Florida saw the Mustangs hold an early 12-11 edge after the first quarter, but the Jets took the lead in the second frame and went up, 33-25, at the half. Monroe won the third quarter, but the Jets pulled away in the fourth to pick up the 11-point victory.
 
Olivia Medford led the Mustangs with 22 points in the game. The Jets were led by Kamya Hollingshed, who totaled 27 points.
 
MUSTANG LEADERS
Medford was selected as the Region 15 Women's Basketball Player of the Year this season. She led the Mustangs with 13.2 points per game and 3.3 steals per game. Medford shoots .421 from the field this season.
 
Naomi Barnwell is scoring 11.9 points per game and leads Monroe with 8.1 rebounds per game, earning her a spot on the All-Region Team. She averaged 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals per contest and is shooting .454 from the field, while shooting .333 from three-point range to lead the team. Barnwell has registered nine double-doubles on the season.
 
Daja Wentz was named to the All-Region Team for the second time in her career. She has averaged 11.8 points per game and leads the team with 3.0 assists per game. Wentz adds 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season and has started more games (26) than any other Mustang this season.
 
SCOUTING THE JETS
South Georgia Tech enters the 2022 NJCAA Championship Tournament as an at-large selection out of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (NJCAA Region 17) and the Southeast District. The Jets enter the tournament with a 26-6 record, having most recently fallen to Georgia Highlands in the GCAA Championship game. Georgia Highlands enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, earning a first-round bye.
 
Alexia Dizeko leads the Jets with 14.4 points per game across 30 games played this season. The six-foot freshman also averages 8.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 54.4 percent from the field. Hollingshed is next on the team with 12.5 points per game. Fanta Gassama averages a double-double on the season with 10.1 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. Gassama is fifth in the NJCAA with 359 rebounds this season, and her 12.0 rebounds per game are the eighth-best average in the nation.
 
LAST TIME WE WERE HERE
2022 marks the second time the Mustangs will appear at the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. Monroe made its first appearance after making the jump from Division II to Division I back in 2017, when the Mustangs made the tournament as the No. 24 seed in the team's first season at the Div. I level. They dropped a close matchup to South Plains College, 85-73, on March 20, 2017. The Mustangs have previously won the NJCAA National Championship on four occasions, twice at the Div. II level and twice before that at Div. III.
 
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).