BRYN MAWR, Pa., February 17, 2024 – The Monroe College Mustangs women's basketball team was unable to hang onto a first-half lead on Saturday, falling to NJCAA Div. II No. 12 Harcum College on the road by a score of 56-43. The Mustangs fall to 16-8 overall, while the Bears improve to 23-4.
Saturday's matchup was close in the first quarter, with the difference being a three by Harcum's Isabella Gonzalez with 33 seconds left leaving the home team up, 16-14, heading to the second. The Mustangs then went on an 8-2 run during the second quarter to take a 24-19 lead, and then a couple late threes by
Carlota Gomez-Alonso and
Shanelle Smith saw the Mustangs go up, 30-23, going into the half.
Monroe scored the first four points of the third quarter to take an 11-point advantage. The Bears then turned things around in a big way, scoring 14 straight points while keeping Monroe off the board for seven minutes to take a 37-34 lead. Smith completed a three-point play for Monroe to tie the game with 18 seconds left in the third, but Harcum's Ciara Bailey was fouled and made the first of two attempts to give the Bears a 38-37 advantage heading to the fourth.
The Bears went on an early 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to go up, 48-39. The Mustangs were only able to score four more points over the final four minutes, seeing the Bears extend their lead to 13 in the final seconds to secure the win.
Smith led Monroe with 15 points on Saturday, adding seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Gomez-Alonso tallied 11 points with 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.
The Mustangs will play next on Wednesday, Feb. 21, when they visit SUNY Sullivan for a matchup originally scheduled for Jan. 23 that was postponed once again on Feb. 13 and will finally take place this week. Wednesday's matchup is set for a 5 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).
