BROWNWOOD, Texas – The #4-seed Monroe University – Bronx women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking and hard-fought loss in the NJCAA Championship Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon, falling to #5-seed Fulton Montgomery Community College in overtime by a score of 64-63. The contest took place at Brownwood Coliseum. 

"Coming out here to nationals, you knew the games were going to be tough," Express Head Coach Damel Ling said. "Fulton-Montgomery was an unbelievable opponent. We executed and our effort was unbelievable. No complaints there. We played really hard. The energy was there. It just didn't end the way we wanted to."

The Express' season is not over yet, as the Blue and Gold (26-7) will compete in NJCAA Championship Consolation Game on Friday against #8-Seed Onondaga Community College at Brownwood Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. EDT/noon CDT. Fulton-Montgomery (24-3) will compete in the NJCAA Championship Semifinals against #1-seed Minnesota West Community & Technical College on Thursday at 5 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. CDT

It was a game of rallies. The Monroe Express built a 15-point lead with 6:49 left in the second quarter. The Raiders stormed back and took a six-point lead in the fourth period. The Express staged a comeback of their own to force overtime and built a three-point advantage in the extra session. However, the Raiders finished the game with four unanswered points to earn the victory in the national quarterfinals. 

Aneyah McLamb had a big game for the Express with 29 points (a career-high) and eight rebounds, shooting 13-for-26 (50.0%) from the field in the process. Beverly Williams generated 18 points, including five 3-point field goals, as well as six rebounds and five steals. Salimah Williams had a solid outing with eight points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, and a trio of steals. Tyra Williams secured five caroms, while Jazmyne Rios added a 3-point field goal, three rebounds, and just as many blocks.

The Express got off to a fast start as a jump shot by McLamb gave the Blue and Gold a 5-0 advantage 2:47 into the contest. Monroe - Bronx kept the momentum going as a 3-point field goal by Beverly Williams extended the Express' surplus to 8-2 with 5:22 remaining in the opening period. 

After Fulton-Montgomery closed the gap to three, Monroe - Bronx took over on both sides of the ball as a steal and layup by Salimah Williams and then a steal and layup by Beverly Williams inflated the Express' benefit to 12-5 with 2:25 to go. 

Fast forward to the closing seconds of the opening period with the Express up 14-7. Beverly Williams launched a 3-point attempt that missed. McLamb grabbed the offensive rebound and converted a putback just before the buzzer went off to propel Monroe – Bronx to a 16-7 advantage after 10 minutes of play. 

The Express continued to build their lead in the early stages of the second quarter as a successful shot from beyond the arc by Beverly Williams capped a 7-1 start to the quarter to pad the Blue and Gold's benefit to 23-8 with 6:49 left before the break. 

The Raiders snatched the momentum by scoring five unanswered points, capped by a layup from Kieonna Christmas, to shrink Monroe – Bronx's surplus to 23-13 with 3:04 left in the opening half. Beverly Williams disrupted the opposition's run by draining another timely 3-point basket to extend the Blue and Gold's lead to 13. Fulton-Montgomery finished the first half strong with a 6-0 run in the final 1:15 of play, capped off by four made free throws over the course of two trips to the charity stripe by Hailey Monroe, to cut the Express' cushion to 26-19. That ended up being the score at the intermission. 

In the third quarter, the Raiders dominated most of the frame as they opened the stanza with an 11-4 run. During that stretch, Shiasia Williams provided a layup to tie it at 30 with 3:19 remaining in the stanza. 

Lea Tavarez temporarily ended Monroe - Bronx's drought with a triple that gave her team a 33-30 edge with 3:02 to go in the quarter. However, a 5-0 run by Fulton-Montgomery, concluded by a layup from Hailey Monroe, put the Express in a 35-33 hole. 

Monroe - Bronx tied the game at 35 thanks to a layup courtesy of McLamb. However, a shot from downtown by Cloey Dopp put the Blue and Gold behind again, 38-35. McLamb struck once more for the Express by converting a layup, while being fouled. She added the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play and even the game at 38 points apiece with 33 seconds left. Christmas responded with a layup that put the Raiders up, 40-38, with 17 ticks on the clock and that was the score entering the final period of regulation play. 

Fulton-Montgomery was able to build its lead to six in the fourth thanks to a layup by Christmas with 5:42 to go put Monroe – Bronx in a 46-40 hole. 

With their backs against the wall, the Express went on a run. After McLamb started it with a layup, Monroe - Bronx got the ball back and Beverly Williams drained a shot from downtown to pull her team to within one. Salimah Williams forced a steal on the defensive end and found McLamb, who sprinted and executed a layup off the fast break to put the Express back in the lead at 47-46. Salimah Williams struck again on defense with another steal and this time, took it to the rim herself for a layup to cap a 9-0 Monroe - Bronx run and give her team a 49-46 vantage with 3:47 left. 

After the Raiders pulled to within one, McLamb and Salimah Williams combined for back-to-back layups to increase Monroe – Bronx's surplus to 53-48 with 1:58 to go. 

Hailey Monroe went on a personal run as she produced a successful 3-point shot and then added a traditional three-point play to secure six straight points for the Raiders and catapult them to a 54-53 lead with 57 seconds to go.

Monroe – Bronx trailed 55-53 in the closing seconds, but McLamb took a feed from Salimah Williams and converted a layup, while being fouled, with nine ticks on the clock to tie the game. She missed the free throw, but the ball went out of bounds off Fulton-Montgomery. The Express had one more chance to win the game but the shot by McLamb was missed and Christmas snatched the rebound with two seconds left. 

Now it was the Raiders who had a chance to win. However, Monroe – Bronx's smothering defense did not allow the opposition to get a shot off and overtime was needed. 

Each team split the first 10 points of the extra session, and the contest was tied at 60. McLamb made another big play as she took a feed from Salimah Williams and converted a layup, plus the harm. She buried the free throw to give the Express a 63-60 surplus with 1:46 remaining. Two possessions later, Hailey Monroe of Fulton-Montgomery drew a foul with 30 seconds remaining. She drained both shots from the free-throw line to trim the Express' lead to 63-62.

Monroe - Bronx was intentionally fouled with 25 seconds left but could not bury any of the two free-throw attempts. Hailey Monroe gained possession of the ball. After she missed a shot on the other end, Hailey Monroe grabbed the offensive board and found Christmas who executed an important layup with 14 seconds left to give the Raiders a slim 64-63 edge. 

The Express called timeout.

Monroe - Bronx had an opportunity to win it but a 3-point attempt by Beverly Williams could not connect. McLamb came up with the offensive rebound and was fouled with three ticks on the clock. Unfortunately for the Express, both free throws rattled off and there was a scramble for the rebound. The final buzzer went off during the scurry and Fulton-Montgomery clinched a spot in the NJCAA Championship Semifinals.

For the Raiders, Hailey Monroe provided a game-high 31 points, snatched eight rebounds, forced six steals, and delivered three assists. Christmas had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while blocking four shots. Dopp also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 caroms.

For updates regarding Monroe - Bronx's consolation game of the NJCAA Championship, check out www.MonroeExpress.com, as well as our social media channels. 

"We look forward to trying to finish this the right way by winning these next two games and finishing fifth in the country," Ling said.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University 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 University marching band, 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).