NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Monroe Express women's basketball returned to their home court Tuesday evening for the first batch of week a of doubleheaders, taking on the Suffolk County Community College Sharks, resulting in a 64-45 victory inside Monroe Athletic Complex. The Express improve to 18-7 (11-0 Region 15) and continue to stay undefeated in conference play, while the Sharks fall to 9-6 (7-6 Region 15).

Monore came out the gate rolling on both sides of the floor, with Maria Negron breaking the scoring ice at the 9:20 mark in the first. Janay Legagneur then followed her own miss after crashing the offensive glass, which was one of her six first half rebounds. The Express stayed active on defense, blocking three shots, anchoring that side of the ball. This defense did not allow the Sharks to score their first bucket until the 4:32 mark, when Aaliyah Shorter snuck in for a layup. Alexandria Walbroehl followed with a layup of her own, and suddenly Suffolk was starting to gain some momentum. After a Crystal Traverso 3-pointer, the Sharks cut the lead to three at the end of the period. 

The Express would put their foot on the gas in the second period, after two Makayla Hartcorn free throws shrunk the advantage to one point, 12-11. One blue and gold 22-9 scoring run later, saw the Express expand their small lead to 15 going into the halftime break. Sierra Jones made pivotal baskets in the stanza including a huge 3-pointer to increase the lead to double digits. Defense continued to be a factor, holding Suffolk to only 11 points in the quarter.

Coming out of the break, Monroe stuck to their game plan scoring seven unanswered points to push the advantage to 21 points. During this span, Aleah James knocked down a deep 3-pointer, while Jones converted an and-one layup. The Express would continue to dig deep, while eventually led to their 64-45 victory.

Jones led the Express with 13 points, four steals, two rebounds and one assist. Janay Legagneur followed with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. James added eight points, six assists, one assist and one steal, while Traverso also registered eight points, along with three steals, one assist and one rebound.

The Express continue at home Thursday (Feb. 9) for a Region 15 stint against the Kingsborough Community College Wave inside Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, NY at 6 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).