Baltimore, MD – The Monroe University women's basketball team suffered its first loss in six games and its first loss on the road this season against Division II No. 3 CCBC Essex, falling to the Knights, 84-71, on Saturday.
Despite a career-day for sophomore
Qaizden Stephano — who recorded career-highs in points (19) and rebounds (10) — the Mustangs couldn't overcome a difficult third quarter to pull off the road upset and revenge over the Knights for an early season loss.
Stephano paced the Mustangs in scoring, with the freshmen trio of
Kaylyn Lelie,
Carlota Lopez and
Sydney Huskey recording 15, 13, and 12 points, respectively. Freshman
Zanaya Parsons was the fifth starter for Monroe as she put up nine points and seven rebounds in her first career start.
A 20-20 first quarter segued into a 19-16 second quarter as Monroe hung around with the Knights in the early portion of the contest. It was an evenly matched game overall, but the first half saw the Mustangs bring an added energy not seen in the first meeting.
Monroe committed just two additional turnovers than the Knights and had more second chance points and free throws, but the three-point disparity is what did the Mustangs in as Essex connected on ten while Monroe couldn't connect at all on Saturday.
A scoreless drought that lasted for a majority of the third quarter led to a 27-14 advantage for the home team. While an 8-0 run to kick off the fourth made it a six-point game with 7:40 remaining, the Knights distanced themselves thanks to the long ball to remain in control.
The Mustangs come away from their Maryland trip 1-1 and will look to their next matchup against Raritan Valley Community College on Thursday, January 30, 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).
