NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 25, 2024 – Thursday's matchup at the Monroe Athletic Complex came down to the final seconds, but despite nearly forfeiting a double-digit lead in the final minutes, the Monroe College Mustangs women's basketball team held on for a 63-62 victory over Raritan Valley Community College. The Mustangs run their winning streak to six to improve to 13-6 overall, while the Lions' five-game win streak comes to an end to drop them to 17-3.
The Mustangs got off to a hot start against the Lions, scoring the game's first 10 points for an early advantage over their guests. The Lions then began to chip away at the deficit, going on an 11-2 run to drop Monroe's lead to 12-11. The Mustangs continued to hold the lead until the final minute of the first quarter, but Raritan Valley scored the final seven points of the period to take a 23-19 edge into the second.
The Lions extended their lead to six early in the second frame, but the Mustangs rebounded on both ends of the court, going on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 28-25 lead. Vega Gil scored five in a row for the Lions to put them back up by two, but
Alycia Secchiaroli hit back to-back layups, and then
Carlota Gomez-Alonso made two at the line after a technical foul to put the Mustangs ahead, 34-30, with 24.6 seconds left in the half. Gil was fouled with three-tenths of a second on the clock, making both chances to leave Monroe up, 34-32, heading to the half.
Emma Wilson-Saltos completed a double-double by halftime with 11 points and 10 rebounds through 20 minutes.
Nicole Bencosme matched her 11 points and added two steals.
Sharon Brown totaled six points and two boards. Secchiaroli scored four points with seven rebounds.
Monroe and Raritan Valley went back-and-forth and back-and-forth to start the third quarter, but four straight points for Monroe put the Mustangs ahead, 44-37. Lucia Noin scored the next four for the Lions, but Monroe got to the line several times in the final two minutes, making five free throws before Wilson-Saltos hit a layup to stretch the lead to 10. Noin then completed a three-point play in the final seconds to make it a 51-44 score in favor of Monroe going to the fourth.
Five straight points to open the fourth gave the Mustangs a 56-44 advantage on the Lions. Gil got the Lions on the board with a three, but Bencosme fired right back with a long ball of her own to keep Monroe up by 12. With Monroe up, 61-51, the Lions hit a pair of threes to cut the deficit to just four points with 1:57 to play. Julia Fontanillo got a steal for the Lions and turned it into two points off the fast break to get the visitors within two.
Raritan Valley's 8-0 stretch came to a halt when
Shanelle Smith got to the line and made 1-of-2 to keep Monroe up by three with 1:04 left. The Mustangs followed that up with a stop, and then managed to take 40 seconds off the clock before Smith was fouled, making the back half of her two opportunities to make it a four-point game with the clock reading 9.0. The Lions let too much time run off the clock before Noin finally launched a long three, making it as time expired, but it was not enough as the Mustangs held on by a point.
Wilson-Saltos finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds for her ninth double-double in the last 10 games. She also picked up four steals and finished 8-of-12 from the field.
Carlota Gomez-Alonso completed a double-double of her own with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals and two assists. Bencosme totaled 14 points, three boards, two assists and two steals. Smith scored nine points, including seven free throws that helped Monroe close out the win. Secchiaroli pulled down nine rebounds in the win.
The Mustangs and Lions go head-to-head again on Tuesday, Jan. 30, this time at Raritan Valley's home in North Branch, N.J. Tuesday's matchup is set for a 6 p.m. tip.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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).
