Sewell, NJ, January 26, 2021 – In a matchup of two NJCAA Division III ranked Top 10 teams, The No. 5 Monroe Express women's basketball team squandered a 28-20 halftime lead on the road as No. 6 Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester outscored them 44-28 - 16-5 in the third quarter - in the second half to upend them on the road, 64-56 on Tuesday night in Sewell, New Jersey. With the loss, The Express has lost back-to-back games, falling to 13-5, while the Roadrunner's third straight victory improves them to 16-2 on the year.
 
The Express had three players post double-digit scoring efforts for the third time in the last four games, with freshman Shashauna Ballantyne (Brooklyn, New York) draining a team-high 14 points. Classmate Nyeira Spady (New Rochelle, New York put up her team-leading sixth double-double bringing down a game-high 13 rebounds and scoring 12 points while snagging five steals and swatting four shots, also game-highs. Freshman Taina Maldonado (New York, New York) chipped in with 10 points, while sophomore Tariah Bryant (Brooklyn, New York) distributed a game-best five assists and Spady gave out four of her own. Freshman Crystal Traverso (Bronx, New York) had all eight of her points in the fourth quarter and grabbed six rebounds. Bryant, Maldonado, and Ramatoulaye Diallo (Brooklyn, New York) had three steals apiece.
 
Turnovers and Free-throws told the story of this one, with both teams committing a total of 61 turnovers with 35 from the Monroe-Bronx and 26 from Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester while the Roadrunners shot 73.5% at the free-throw line and the Express shot 45.5% at the charity stripe. The Express only scored 17 points off of turnovers, while the Roadrunners converted 26 points off of turnovers.
 
Monroe-Bronx made it a tough night shooting for Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester, holding them to 27.7% field goal percentage (18-65 FG) but had struggles themselves finishing with a 28.2% field goal percentage (20-71 FG). The Express outrebounded the Roadrunners 53-43 while registering 10 or more steals for the fourth straight game and 10 or more assists for the 15th time this season.

The first quarter was low scoring between both squads, with points coming off of two big runs. After the Express raced out with eight of the first 10 points, the Roadrunners responded with the following five points to cut the lead to one, 8-7 at 1:24, when Qeiajae Canty went 1-for-2 at the line, and it stayed that way after both teams traded buckets with the Express leading 10-9 after one. 
 
Monroe-Bronx exploded in the second quarter for a 12-0 run and held Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester scoreless over the first 3:48 to build the lead to its largest of the night 13, 22-9 at 6:22 on a Ballantyne layup off of a Maldonado steal, and Bryant assist. However, the Roadrunners would respond with a 7-0 run of their own, cutting the lead to six, 22-16 at 3:54 on a Madison Dulude layup, and then the Express scored six of the final 10 points going up by double-digits again, 28-18 on a Spady three-pointer and going into the halftime mark with a 28-20 advantage.  
 
Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester changed the narrative in the third quarter, racing out to an 11-0 run and holding Monroe-Bronx scoreless through the first 3:45 to take their first lead since the 9:32 mark of the first quarter 31-28 on a three-point play by Nyasia Clark. Spady finally got the Express on the board at the 3:56 mark to make it 31-30 and collected all five points of the quarter for the Express down the stretch going 2-for-2 from the line with seven seconds remaining to cut it to a 36-33 Roadrunner lead going into the final stanza.
 
The final quarter provided a pendulum of momentum until the final buzzer with four different lead changes and three ties between the two teams. Monroe-Bronx kicked it off with a 10-2 run over the first minute and a half to retake the lead 40-38 on a Traverso layup in transition off of a Bryant steal and Maldonado three-pointer at 7:46 to extend it to five, 43-38 at 7:46. Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester scored six of the following seven points, tying it up at 44 on a Qeiajae Canty three-point play at 4:45, then the visitors went back in front 46-45 on a Bryant jumper at 3:59. The hosts grabbed the lead 49-46 on a Danielle Jeffreys trey from the top of the key at 3:22. 
 
Traverso knotted the game up at 49 on a three-pointer 12 seconds later before Julianna Montero helped the Roadrunners get the lead back 51-49 going a perfect 2-for-2 from the line before Traverso and Ballantyne both went 1-for-2 at the line to tie it up again at 51. Spady fed Diallo backdoor for a go-ahead layup to give the Express the lead 53-51 at 2:09 before the Roadrunners were able to take control of the game down the stretch with a ferocious 11-0 run. Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester regained the lead 54-53 on a Danielle Jeffreys three at 1:58 and extended it to its largest of the night, nine, 62-53 with 26 seconds left capped off when Julianna Montero went 2-for-2 from the line en route to victory.
 
For Rowan College South Jersey-Glouster, spearheaded the offensive effort with a game-high 20 points, while Julianna Montero had 15 points and corralled a game-high six steals. Trina Deveney-Bethea hauled down a team-best 11 rebounds, and Nyasia Clark dished out a team-high four assists.
 
The Express women's basketball team will look to end their skid on Thursday January 27 on the road against Raritan Valley Community College at 5 p.m. in North Branch, New Jersey. 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).