LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 15 Monroe College – Bronx women's basketball team earned a dominating victory in Region 15 play over LaGuardia Community College, 69-52, at LaGuardia CC Sports Gymnasium on Saturday, January 20. The Express advance to 7-2 in regional play (10-7 overall), while the Red Hawks fall to 3-8 in the region (3-10 overall).
 
The Express go off to a slow start, as they fell behind 12-0 and were held scoreless for the first 8:34 of play. Freshman guard Daysiah Smith finally got Monroe on the board with a triple, and that woke up the offense as the Blue and Gold scored 10 points in the final 1:26 of the opening period to shrink the opposition's lead to 13-10. The Express dominated the second quarter, 26-15, to take the lead for good on their way to the Region 15 road win.
 
Smith was the catalyst for Monroe – Bronx as she scored a game-high 34 points, shot 13-for-27 from the field and 6-for-11 from deep, while forcing seven steals, grabbing six rebounds, and distributing a trio of assists. 
 
Rookie guard Angeleny Cobos also had a productive game for Monroe as she scored 16 points, including four 3-point baskets, and dished out four assists. Classmate Jah Gunter collected seven steals, tallied three assists, and snatched three caroms.
 
Monroe – Bronx could not get anything going for the majority of the first quarter. LaGuardia took advantage as a layup by sophomore guard Shemiah Sealey gave the home team a commanding 12-0 benefit with 1:44 remining. The Express finally scored their first basket of the game thanks to a triple by Smith. That sparked a 10-1 run by the Express during the last 1:26 of the quarter, capped off by a buzzer-beating triple courtesy of Cobos, to narrow the Express' deficit to 13-10 after one quarter of play.
 
Monroe – Bronx fell behind by five in the early stages of the second quarter but countered with five unanswered points, concluded by a layup from freshman guard Leanna Morales, to even the game. 
 
After the Red Hawks went up 18-15, the momentum of the contest changed as two free throws by Smith followed by her layup began an 11-0 run by the Express, which Smith capped off with a putback basket to give Monroe – Bronx a commanding 26-18 advantage with 6:34 left before the break. That put Monroe in the lead for good.
 
LaGuardia managed to pull to within three, but then Monroe finished the first half on a 7-2 run to go into the locker room up by eight. Morales put the exclamation point on the quarter with two seconds left, by converting a jump shot, that inflated her team's lead to 36-28. 
 
The Red Hawks managed to pull to within four during the middle stages of the third quarter, but Monroe countered with a run to go all the way up by 13 with 2:03 left. LaGuardia did not go away as they scored the final seven points of the stanza to narrow its disadvantage to 49-43 after 30 minutes of action.
 
Smith got the Express back on track in the final quarter by draining a 3-point shot to extend her team's lead to nine. Later in the period, Monroe – Bronx began to pull away as a triple by Cobos inflated the Express' cushion to 58-49 with 4:23 to go. That began a run of 14 unanswered points for the Express, finished off by a layup from Smith, to pad Monroe's vantage to 69-49 with just 2:03 remaining. 
 
Monroe – Bronx ended up winning the contest, 69-52.
 
For the Express, freshman guard Tiffany Newsome had a productive outing with eight rebounds and five steals. Rookie guard Davian Myers added four points, five boards, and a pair of steals. Morales tallied four points, three assists, a trio of steals, and two rebounds. 
 
Freshman forward Da'Mya Cheatham finished with four points, two blocks, a steal, an assist, and a rebound for the Express, while first-year guard Tymere Moorer chipped in with three points, three assists, and just as many steals. Stewart-Greer blocked three shots and snatched just as many caroms. 
 
Monroe – Bronx will return to the friendly confines of Monsignor Scanlan Gymnasium, on Monday, January 22, for a battle against Massasoit Community College. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. 

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 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 seven 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/X (@MonroeExpress), Instagram (@MonroeExpress), and Threads (@MonroeExpress).