NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 31, 2023 – Tuesday's matchup at the Monroe Athletic Complex was neck-and-neck from start to finish, but the Monroe College Mustangs women's basketball team came up just short in a 70-68 final against NJCAA Div. II No. 10 Harcum College. The Mustangs fall to 12-11 overall with the loss, while the Bears improve to 21-1.
The Mustangs had some fire to start the game, jumping out to a 7-2 lead, but the Bears quickly closed the gap.
Amiyah Edney-Holmes broke the tie with a three, but the Bears responded with nine straight to go up, 16-10. The Mustangs pushed back with five straight, including a three by
Paetynn Gray, but Jasmyn Jefferies closed out the first with a pair of free throws for Harcum, leaving the visitors up, 22-17.
The Mustangs opened the second quarter with a 6-2 run to make it a one-point game, but Harcum responded with the next six to go back up by seven.
Olivia Medford sank a three and then
Emma Wilson-Saltos made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to get within three, but the Bears matched with the next four points to take a 34-27 edge. Medford hit another three in the final minute and then Wilson-Saltos once again made 1-of-2 chances with just a second left in the half to go to halftime with Harcum up, 36-33.
Sara Carvajal-Caro led the Mustangs with nine points at the break and was one of five players to pull down three rebounds. Edney-Holmes added seven points, while Medford tallied six.
Four straight points three minutes into the third quarter had the Mustangs within one of the Bears. After Harcum went back up by three, Carvajal-Caro made a layup, and then Edney-Holmes nailed a three to put the Mustangs ahead by two. Edney-Holmes followed with a layup of her own to make it a 44-40 lead for Monroe. Harcum tied the game back up at 44, but the Mustangs jumped back into the lead on a pair of Edney-Holmes foul shots. The Bears then closed out the third with five straight points to take a 49-46 advantage into the fourth.
Monroe kicked off the fourth with an 8-1 run to jump ahead, 54-50, but the Bears turned things around with the next six to go back up by two. With Harcum up by four,
Naomi Barnwell and Medford scored the next four to tie the game at 60-60. Mikaela Parris then produced a three-point play for the Bears to put them back up by three with three minutes to play. Edney-Holmes scored two to get back within a point, and then Jasmyn Jefferies could only make 1-of-2 from the line to make it a two-point Harcum lead with 1:21 on the clock. Amaris Baker then got to the line for Harcum, making both to put the visitors up by four with 41 seconds left.
Tanae Arnold drew a foul and made both to make it a two-point game, but Jefferies made two on the way back for Harcum to bring the score to 68-64 with 32.2 on the scoreboard.
Barnwell managed to drop in a layup through a foul to get within two, but was unable to make the free throw. After Baker made just 1-of-2 attempts on the other side, Medford somehow got a layup to drop while falling to the floor on a foul to make it a one-point game. Medford's free throw rimmed out, but the Mustangs got the ball back on a jump ball. Monroe was unable to get up a shot, with the Bears taking the ball away and drawing one last foul. Parris made the second of two attempts from the line to bring the score to 70-68 with just 0.6 left to play, leaving the Mustangs without any time to take a shot.
Edney-Holmes finished with a team-high 18 points in the game, adding six rebounds and a pair of assists. Carvajal-Caro added 17 with nine boards, two assists and a block. Medford scored 12 points in the game. Barnwell contributed eight points with seven rebounds.
The Mustangs will look to turn things back around when they take a trip to Maryland later this week for a pair of games. The trip begins on Thursday, Feb. 2, when the Mustangs visit CCBC Catonsville for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
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 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 11 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).
