New Rochelle, N.Y., January 25, 2024 – Thursday's matchup at the Monroe Athletic Complex came down to the final seconds, but despite nearly completing a double-digit comeback in the final minutes, the Lions fell to the host Mustangs 62-63
The Mustangs got off to a hot start against the Lions, scoring the game's first 10 points for an early advantage over their guests. The Lions then began to chip away at the deficit, going on an 11-2 run to drop Monroe's lead to 12-11. The Mustangs continued to hold the lead until the final minute of the first quarter, but Raritan Valley scored the final seven points of the period to take a 23-19 edge into the second.
The Lions extended their lead to six early in the second frame, but the Mustangs rebounded on both ends of the court, going on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 28-25 lead. Vega Gil scored five in a row for the Lions to put them back up by two, but Alycia Secchiaroli hit back to-back layups, and then Carlota Gomez-Alonso made two at the line after a technical foul to put the Mustangs ahead, 34-30, with 24.6 seconds left in the half. Gil was fouled with three-tenths of a second on the clock, making both chances to leave Monroe up, 34-32, heading to the half.
Monroe and Raritan Valley went back-and-forth and back-and-forth to start the third quarter, but four straight points for Monroe put the Mustangs ahead, 44-37. Lucia Noin scored the next four for the Lions, but Monroe got to the line several times in the final two minutes, making five free throws before Wilson-Saltos hit a layup to stretch the lead to 10. Noin then completed a three-point play in the final seconds to make it a 51-44 score in favor of Monroe going to the fourth.
Five straight points to open the fourth gave the Mustangs a 56-44 advantage on the Lions. Gil got the Lions on the board with a three, but Bencosme fired right back with a long ball of her own to keep Monroe up by 12. With Monroe up, 61-51, the Lions hit a pair of threes to cut the deficit to just four points with 1:57 to play. Julia Fontanillo got a steal for the Lions and turned it into two points off the fast break to get the Lions within two.
Raritan Valley's 8-0 stretch came to a halt when Shanelle Smith got to the line and made 1-of-2 to keep Monroe up by three with 1:04 left. The Mustangs followed that up with a stop, and then managed to take 40 seconds off the clock before Smith was fouled, making the back half of her two opportunities to make it a four-point game with the clock reading 9.0. The Lions let too much time run off the clock before Noin finally launched a long three, making it as time expired, but it was not enough as the Mustangs held on by a point.
Noin and Gil led the team in scoring with 25 and 18 points respectively. Fontanillo led the team with 8 assists, 5 steals, and 8 rebounds to go along with her 11 points.
Stone Ridge, N.Y., January 27, 2027 - The Lions traveled to face the Senators from SUNY Ulster on Saturday and came away with a 78-50 win. Noin led the team with 23 points while Fontanillo filled the statsheet again with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals. Quanajah Felder was the only other Lion in double figures as she finished with 12 points. Every Lion scored at least 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the contest.
The team is now 18-3 and has a rematch against the Mustangs on Tuesday at 6:30 PM.