New Rochelle, NY – The Monroe University women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, losing to Division II No. 3 CCBC Essex, 88-72.
Unlike the previous six games, the Mustangs ended the first quarter trailing. The Knights opened the game on a 17-4 run, eventually closing the first ten minutes up 28-11. Monroe struggled with turnovers, committing 13.
But once the game settled down, the Mustangs found their comfort zone. An 11-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from freshman
Kaylyn Lelie, put the team right back into the contest. The Mustangs cut the deficit to as little as four, but Essex closed the half up, 38-32.
Lelie contributed eight points in the quarter, while sophomore
Julia Pacheco tallied six points and eight rebounds.
Less than two minutes into the second half, a layup from freshman
Ariel Walker gave the Mustangs their first lead of the contest and ignited the crowd. The two sides traded leads throughout the quarter, but the Knights scored six straight to close it.
The fourth was all Essex, with the Mustangs succumbing to the foul troubles that persisted throughout the contest. Three starters fouled out in the quarter and the Knights capitalized, converting on all nine of their attempts in the period.
Overall, Essex made 26 free throws to 19 by the Mustangs.
Freshman
Morgan Marshall paced Monroe with 23 points, while Lelie chipped in 20.
The Mustangs will next head to Bel Air, MD to take on Harford Community College on Thursday at 5:00 pm.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University 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.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
