SELDEN, N.Y. – The Monroe University – Bronx women's basketball team captured the Region 15 and Northeast District Championships in thrilling fashion on Sunday afternoon by storming back to defeat Kingsborough Community College in overtime, 57-56. Monroe earns an automatic bid into the NJCAA Tournament which will take place in Brownwood, Texas from March 11-14. 

Monroe (26-6) trailed by 10 with less than four minutes remaining in regulation but stormed back to force overtime. The Express fell behind by four in the extra session but once again dug deep, climbed out of the deficit, and surged to the victory to earn the program's fourth regional and district championship out of the past five years.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to finish the journey we been on all year" Express Head Coach Damel Ling said. "Our goal at the beginning of the year was to win the Region 15 Championship. To end it in this way is phenomenal."

Aneyah McLamb had an outstanding game for Monroe - Bronx with 21 points, 15 rebounds, four steals, and three assists. She drained clutch shots down the stretch, including the game-tying basket with 38 seconds left to send the game to overtime. Plus, she hit the go-ahead basket with 2.7 seconds left in the extra period that gave Monroe a 56-54 edge on its way to the victory. Thanks to her strong effort, McLamb was named to the Region 15 All-Tournament team.

Beverly Williams delivered with 17 points and five rebounds for Monroe. She successfully executed a four-point play during the first half which got the Express back in the game. Beverly Williams also sparked the turnaround late in regulation by being fouled, while attempting a 3-point field goal, and then draining all three shots from the charity stripe which pulled Monroe to within four (43-39) with 2:16 to go. Also, she gave Monroe a 54-52 lead late in overtime thanks to a 3-point basket with 32 ticks left on the clock. Due to her strong play in the regional title game and in the region's postseason, Beverly Williams was named the Region 15 Tournament MVP.

Monroe got off to a fast start in the game, jumping out to 4-0 and 7-4 leads. The Wave fought back by going on an 8-1 run to catapult to a 12-8 benefit. Beverly Williams helped the Express close out the opening quarter on a positive note by draining a shot from beyond the arc with two seconds left to pull Monroe to within a 12-11 margin and that was the score after 10 minutes of play.

The Express started the second stanza strong by leapfrogging Kingsborough to a 15-14 advantage. Beverly Williams continued Monroe's surge as she drained a 3-point dagger, while being fouled. She added the free throw to complete the four-point play and pad the Blue and Gold's lead to 19-14 with 6:39 left in the half. 

The Wave (15-8) scored the next nine points, concluded by a shot from downtown by Aneyah Alexander, to put the visiting team up 22-19 with 1:40 remaining until the break. McLamb got the Express closer by executing a layup with 40 seconds left to narrow Monroe's disadvantage to 22-21. Fast forward to eight seconds remaining. Kingsborough had the ball, but Sade Gibbs forced a steal. McLamb receive the ball and found Tyra Williams who guided the ball into the hoop to push Monroe into a 23-22 edge which became the halftime score.

The Express' offense came screeching to a halt in the third, only scoring four points during the frame. Kingsborough scored 10 in the third and took a 32-27 benefit into the final period of regulation play.

The Wave built their lead to 10 a couple of times in the fourth, including a free throw by Justinna Boatwright that gave her team a 42-32 hold with 4:02 left in regulation.

Monroe's fortunes began to change, however. After Tyra Williams drew a foul after picking the loose ball up during a scramble off a missed free throw, she went to the line and buried two shots from the charity stripe to give Monroe life as KCC's lead was cut to eight with 3:59 to go. On Monroe's next offensive possession, Tyra Williams drew another foul and then hit two more free throws to narrow the deficit to 42-36 with 3:29 left.

The Express' disadvantage got to seven but then Beverly Williams drew a key foul while attempting a 3-point shot and then hit all three free-throw attempts to shrink KCC's lead down to 43-39 with 2:16 remaining. 

The Blue and Gold's momentum continued as McLamb grabbed an offensive rebound and tipped the ball into the basket to deflate Monroe's deficit to 43-41 with 1:21 left. 

Moving ahead to 39 seconds remaining. The Express had the ball, and timeout was called by the home team. The Express executed a great inbound play as Salimah Williams threw the ball to McLamb who quickly got the ball up for a successful layup, while being fouled, to tie the game with 38 ticks left on the clock, much to the delight of the raucous crowd. However, she missed the shot from the charity stripe, so the contest was still knotted up.  

Neither team connected with the basket for the rest of regulation and overtime was needed to decide the Region 15 Champion. 

Kingsborough scored the first four points of the extra session to put Monroe in a 47-43 hole. Salimah Williams answered right away for the Express with a 3-point basket to pull her team to within one with 3:27 to go. 

Less than a minute later, Monroe had possession of the ball still down 47-46. The Express missed a shot, but McLamb grabbed an offensive board, while being fouled. She drained two key free throws to propel the Blue and Gold to a 48-47 edge with 2:39 remaining. 

On the next possession, Lejla Huseinovic got Kingsborough back on track with a 3-point field goal to put the visiting team in front. Jazmyne Rios immediately countered with a basket from downtown of her own to bring Monroe back to the lead, 51-50, with 2:05 left on the clock. 

Boatwright got Kingsborough back in front with two free throws to make it 52-51 with 1:25 left to play. After each team went scoreless on an offensive possession, the Express had the ball. Beverly Williams hoisted a shot from beyond the arc and the ball swished through the net to give Monroe a 54-52 advantage with 32 seconds left. Olivia Eugene answered with a layup to tie it up at 54 with 23 ticks on the clock. 

Beverly Williams dribbled the ball up the court and passed it to McLamb who held the ball close to the half-court mark on Monroe's offensive side. Then, McLamb went through defenders while driving to the basket, and executed a successful layup with 2.7 seconds remaining to give Monroe a 56-54 edge. The Wave called a timeout. After the teams got out of the huddle, Kingsborough threw the inbound pass out of bounds. 

The Express had a chance to run out the clock, but the inbound pass was deflected by Aristi, and it was a race to the loose ball heading towards Kingsborough's offensive basket. The ball was picked up by the Wave, and the Express committed a foul with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Kingsborough had a chance to tie if both free throws were made. The first was missed. The second was good. Rios threw the inbound pass to Beverly Williams who caught it and the remaining time ticked off. Thus, clinching the 2025-26 Region 15 and Northeast District Championships for the Express. 

Rios grabbed eight rebounds for Monroe during the afternoon, while Salimah Williams snatched seven. Tyra Williams recorded six points and five rebounds. Tavarez also contributed to the rebounding with four and assisted on Beverly Williams' go-ahead 3-point basket with 32 seconds left in overtime. Jaeda Kelly forced three steals, while Diamondnique Stephenson secured three boards. Gibbs brought down two caroms, while Aviah Richards added one rebound of her own. 

For Kingsborough. Boatwright had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Alexander generated 10 points and 13 rebounds. Mariana Richards added eight points and 10 caroms. Aristy had a solid game with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Olivia Eugene scored 12 points, while Emily Pinnock-Jarret recorded five points and seven rebounds.

The Express will find out the first-round opponent, date, and time during the NJCAA Selection Show which will take place this Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the NJCAA Network.

For updates regarding Monroe – Bronx's journey in the upcoming NJCAA Tournament, check out www.MonroeExpress.com as well as our social media channels.

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).