New Rochelle, N.Y. (November 30, 2021) – After shaking off some early holiday rust on Tuesday evening, the NJCAA Basketball nationally-ranked No. 4 Monroe Express women's basketball team locked in and dominated visiting UCONN Avery Point the rest of the way, 78-50, at Monroe Athletic Complex. The Express record improves to a perfect 7-0 on the season while UCONN Avery Point drops to 2-5 overall.
Five Express players finished the contest in double figures, with freshman Shashauna Ballantyne (Brooklyn, New York) leading the pack with a career and team-high 18 points. Classmate Magnama Traore (Conakry, Guinea) put up her first double-double of the season, hauling down a game-best 17 rebounds, 14 of them on offense, and scoring a career-best 13 points. Freshman Hadja Bah (Brooklyn, New York) dished out a game-best six assists while also scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds of her own. Classmate Tariah Bryant (Brooklyn, New York) chipped in with 11 points of her own and snatched a game-high five steals, and Crystal Traverso (Bronx, New York) chipped in with 10 points on the night.
The Express held UCONN Avery Point to 26.5% from the field (16-54 FG) and scored 34 points off of 32 forced turnovers while controlling the rebounding advantage 58-41. Monroe-Bronx also dominated the paint, scoring 42-24, and got 38 of their 78 points on the evening from their bench.
UCONN Avery Point got off to a hot start recording six of the first eight points of the first quarter and holding the Express to one field goal over the first seven and a half minutes. After building their lead to the largest of the night to five, 9-4, on a Cassidy White layin at 5:58, Traore recorded three consecutive points - layup at 5:22 and two free-throws at 4:58 - to get the deficit down to one, 9-8. After UCONN Avery Point scored five of the following seven points to get the lead back to four, 14-10 on an Adeline Smith layup at 2:11, the Express ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run. Monroe-Bronx took their first lead 15-14 on a Traverso three-pointer at 1:01 and extended it to three with 14 seconds left, 17-14, on a Fatima Thompson (Bronx, New York) jumper.
The Express roared out of the gate on a 20-2 run, holding UCONN Avery Point to 1-of-5 shooting through the first 5:51 of the second quarter building their lead to 21, 37-16, the largest of the first half on a Ballantyne three-pointer at 4:39. An Angel Trinity three-pointer would cut the lead to 17, 37-20 at 2:56 for UCONN Avery Point before the Express closed out the first half with five of the seven final points to lead at halftime 42-22.
Monroe-Bronx's advantage never fell below 20 points in the contest's final two quarters, rolling to a dominant 78-50 victory over UCONN Avery Point.
UCONN Avery Point had two starters put up double-figure performances spearheaded by Adeline Smith, who drained game-high 20 points. Trinity Angel posted a double-double, grabbing a team-best 14 rebounds and scoring 11 points, while Francesca Foster dished out a team-high five assists and registered a team-best three steals on defense.
The Express women's basketball team remains unscathed this season. They will take their undefeated 7-0 mark on the road two days from now on Thursday, December 2 at 6 p.m. against Regional opponent Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York. For more information, visit the Monroe Express Women's Basketball Schedule Page.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter (@MonroeExpress), and Instagram (@MonroeExpress).
