NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College women’s basketball team came within seconds of earning its second win of the season in Rhode Island, on Sunday, but a buzzer-beating three pointer from the Knights sent the game into overtime, where the Mustangs fall, 70-67. Samantha Hines posted a double-double in the loss.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle with neither side gaining a foothold on the lead. The advantage went back and forth and CCRI held a two-point lead with 1:42 left. Gabrielle Jubinville made a three-point to put Monroe up one, and Hines made a layup at the end of the quarter to make the score 18-15, for the Mustangs, after a quarter of play.
The advantage grew to five early in the second quarter as Hines picked up a pair of offensive rebounds and scored on a put back. The freshman finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds (14 off the offensive glass). The Knights would erase that lead during the course of the second quarter. Monroe stole the advantage back late in the half on a bucket from Destini Green and a free throw by Hines. The Mustangs led at the intermission, 29-25.
Monroe pushed the action in the third quarter, despite being undermanned. The Mustangs got their lead up to eight points, when a Breanna Dennis layup at 1:46 made the score, 49-41. CCRI closed out the third with four straight points and Monroe.
In a seesaw game, the eight-point cushion dissipated for Monroe, but they rebuilt the lead back up to a game-high nine points courtesy of a Dennis layup with 3:25 remaining. Trailing by nine, CCRI used the final three minutes to pull within three points. They buried a three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to even the score at 61-61 and force overtime.
In the extra session, Monroe scored first on a Green foul shot, but the Knights took the late immediately afterwards and never relinquished it. They won 70-67.
In the game, Monroe scored 52 points in the paint, with 19 coming off second chances. Destini Green had 14 points and nine assists, while Jubinville had another double-double totaling 13 points and 14 boards. The team is now 1-7 on the season and will look for their second win of the season when they participate in the Lake Michigan Tournament beginning on Friday. The Mustangs open the Invitational against Oakland Community College at 2PM.