Knights Derail Division III No. 4, Hand Express First Loss of Season

By Rocco Geppi

Bronx, N.Y. – The Knights did not let a 90-minute delay to tipoff slow them down and handed NJCAA Division III No. 4 ranked Monroe College (Bronx) its first loss of the season last Friday night, 79-42 in front of the Express' home crowd.

Patricia Anumgba (Silver Spring, Md.) finished with a double-double on a game and career-high 35 points (16-35) and 10 rebounds. She also had six steals and three assists.

Jaelyn Swann (Elkridge, Md.) and Vanessa Woodfolk (Charlottesville, Va.) also scored in double figures with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Swann added four rebounds and four steals, while Woodfolk had eight rebounds and two blocks.

With 5:48 remaining in the opening quarter, it was a one possession game as Essex led 9-6.

The Knights (10-0) finished the quarter on a 16-2 run to grab a 25-8 lead after one.

Monroe fought back in the second frame, outscoring the Knights 18-16.

The Express (9-1) outshot Essex by nearly 20% in the second, going 7-16 from the field to cut the halftime deficit to 15 at 41-26.

Essex reasserted themselves in the third quarter.

Anumgba had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and Kelly Foster (Rock Hill, S.C.) and Cassandra Hawthorne (Hartford, Conn.) came off the bench to score seven points combined on 3-of-4 shooting.  

Neither team shot particularly well in the fourth, combining for just 18 points.

The Knights defense was on full display, forcing Monroe into a season-high 30 turnovers.

Essex also had 17 steals, the most by any Express opponent so far this season.

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