NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Monroe Express women's basketball made their long awaited home opener Tuesday evening as they took down the #1 ranked Hostos Community College Caimans in decisive fashion, with an 84-39 final inside the Monroe Athletic Complex. This was the Express' and Caimans first matchup since the 2022 NJCAA Region 15 Championship Tournament in which Monroe prevailed. With the victory, The Express' record increases to 6-3 and they stay undefeated in Region 15 play at 5-0, while the Caimans fall to 6-2 (4-1 Region 15).

Nyeira Spady got the Express into the scoring column first, splitting a pair of free throws, followed by a Felicia Felician fastbreak layup off an Aleah James miscue. James recovered from the blunder, knocking down a mid-range jumper to give Monroe the advantage. Over the next 6 minutes, the home team would go on a 14-5 run to end the first period.

The Express kept their foot on the gas to start the second quarter, with an Alyssa Grant corner 3-pointer to raise the lead to 14. Hostos followed with two layups to trim the lead to 10 by Aiyana Hicks and Dimon Walker, but this is the closest that the Caimans would be for the rest of the contest. A Spady downtown hit and a last second Ariella Johnson layup later saw the lead balloon to 19 points, putting the score at 38-19 going into the intermission.

Monroe would keep Hostos scoreless for the first five minutes of the third stanza, as the lead grew to 31 points, including a Janay Legagneur takeaway and fastbreak layup. In the fourth, Crystal Traverso scored her first points of the game, stealing the ball and finishing the play on the other end of the court, which eventually settled the 84-39 final.

Following his team's inspiring victory, head coach Jeremy Thompson shared these thoughts postgame:

"Tonight was a big win for us, we have had to battle against some of the top ranked teams in the country on the road and tonight we got a chance to protect our house against #1 in the country and got it done. We had contributions from the whole roster which is great to see. This was a big win for us tonight, but we still have a few more tough games before break. Well enjoy this one, but back at it to prepare in practice."

Legagneur led all scorers with 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal. Sierra Jones added 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal off the bench. James contributed 11 points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist while Spady scored 10 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Magan Jackson and Johnson both pitched in eight.

The Express conclude their brief home stand Saturday (Dec. 10) to take on the Rockland Community College Hawks inside the Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, NY at 1 PM.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 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 and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 14 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).