NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College women’s basketball team fell to Cecil Community College, 56-53, in the final game of the Monroe Holiday Tip Off on Sunday in New Rochelle. Four Mustangs reached double figures in the game.
With the score tied at 8-8 in the first, Samantha Hines put Monroe ahead with a layup after she got a steal on the other end of the floor. The Mustangs closed out the scoring in the quarter with one free throw each from Fatoumata Coulibaly and Gabrielle Jubinville and led 12-9 after one.
Monroe opened the second quarter with five straight points to go up, 17-9. Desitini Green slashed through the lane and made a layup and on the subsequent Mustangs possession, Camilla Kilinc buried a three-pointer. The largest lead was 12 points, when a Green foul shot at 5:56 made the score 25-13. Monroe led at the half, 30-21.
Kilinc opened the third with another trifecta and Monroe led, 33-21. From there, Cecil answered and got as close as a single point before Monroe pulled away and led 42-36 after three quarters.
A three-point-play from Green at 7:28 put the Mustangs up by nine, 47-38, but Cecil erased that deficit. A 12-4 run over the next four minutes brought the game to 51-50 for Monroe, with 3:24 remaining. Cecil went ahead from there and a Jubinville layup in the closing seconds pulled the Mustangs within two points, 55-53, but a late free throw from Cecil sealed the game at 56-53.
In the game, Jubinville and Hines each recorded double-doubles. Jubinville, the sophomore, finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while the freshman had 19 points and 11 boards. Kilinc totaled 11 in the loss and made three trifectas, while Green came off the bench to finish with a dozen.
The team is now 4-11 on the season. The Monroe College women’s basketball team returns to action on Monday, January 4, when they host archrival, ASA College. The action with the Avengers gets underway at 6:00 PM.