New Rochelle, New York - The fifth-seeded BMCC women's basketball team was defeated by fourth-seeded Monroe-Bronx 104-72 on Tuesday night in the Region 15 quarterfinals at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Panthers fall to 7-15 while the Express improve to 16-16 and will face top seed Hostos Community College in the Region 15 semifinals on Saturday, March 2, at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York.
 
Sophomore Emily Kennedy (Brooklyn, New York) ended her illustrious career on a high note with her team-leading 11th double-double and the 17th of her career with a career and third 30-point performance of her career with a game-high 37 points, with 26 of them coming in the first half to go along with a team-high 12 boards. Kennedy also registered another personal best at the charity stripe, going 23-of-32 (72 percent) while dishing out a team-high six assists.
 
The Panthers recorded their 14th straight double-digit steal performance with 17 total on the evening, with Kennedy leading the way with a team-best five steals. Freshmen Kamella Ross (Bronx, New York) and Stephany Coward (Queens, New York) had three each, and classmates Mariah Wigfall (New York, New York) and Jania Simmons (Brooklyn, New York) snagged two apiece. 
 
Freshman Sheliyah Jackson (Bronx, New York) turned away a game-best, tied two shots, and grabbed nine boards in the contest.
 
Kennedy becomes the second player in program history to reach 700 points for her career, finishing up second in school history with 705 career points, just five shy of tying the all-time record holder Fanta Sissoko. Kennedy scored in double figures in all 22 contests this year and 34 times for her career, including 33 straight double-digit scoring performances dating back to last year. Kennedy also ends her career as a Panther in the top three in all-time program history in two other categories, ranking second all-time in school history with 166 career steals and 152 career assists. Her 322 career rebounds are the seventh most in program history.
 
Kennedy's team-leading 116 steals and 115 assists are also the second and third most in a single season, while her 432 points are the fourth most.
 
Kennedy also led the Panthers in 11 other different categories to end the 2023-2024 campaign with 20.6 points per game, 141 field goals made, 303 field goals attempted, 46.5. percent from the field, 138 free throws made, 214 free throws attempted, 63.2 percent from the line, 197 rebounds, 9.4 rebounds per game, 5.5 assists per game, and 5.5 steals per game.
 
The Benjamin Banneker Academy product also ranked in the top ten nationally in three categories, with her 5.5 steals per game, 116 steals, and 5.5 assists per game being good for second, fourth, and sixth in the country. Her 432 points and 20.6 points per game average are 11th and 12th in the country. 
 
Freshman Mariah Wigfall finished tied for fifth most in a single season with 81 steals and eighth all-time, while Jackson finished with a team-high 30 blocks, which were good for sixth all-time and eighth most in a single season.
 
The Panthers went blow for blow with the fourth-seeded Express in the first half, exchanging the first 12 points of the first quarter, then registered three of the following five points after to grab their first lead 9-7 on a Kennedy layup at 6:01. After a Daysiah Smith went 1-of-2 at the line at 4:54 to tie it a nine. BMCC went on a 7-0 run to stretch their lead to the largest of the night six, 15-9, on a pair of free throws from Kennedy at the 3:15 mark. 
 
Monroe-Bronx responded with an 8-0 run over the next 1:03 to retake the lead 17-15 on Tiffany Newsome's layin before Patricia Perez (Brooklyn, New York) got the Panthers even at 17 with a layup at the 1:27 mark. Monroe-Bronx finished on a 7-3 run to lead 24-20 after one quarter of play.
 
The Express opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run, building their lead to nine, 31-22, when Smith went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe. BMCC made one final charge with a 9-1 run to get the deficit down to two, 33-31, on a Simmons layup at 4:42. Monroe-Bronx fired back with an 11-2 run to get their lead to 11, 44-33 on a Tymere Moorer layup at 3:23 before the Panthers responded with an 8-0 run to get the deficit to single digits by three, 44-41, at 1:05 on a Ross layin. The Express scored seven of the last 12 points to take a 51-45 advantage into halftime.
 
The Express pulled away in the second half, exploding for a 19-5 run over the first 5:50 over the third quarter to lead by 20 for the first time on the night, 70-50 on a Davian Meyers layin at the 3:50 mark, and outscoring the Panthers 32-11 in the period to take an 83-56 into the final stanza. Monroe-Bronx got their lead to its largest of the night, 33, 100-67, at the 2:38 mark when Moryliz Marquez connected on 1-of-2 free throw attempts and rolled to a 104-72 victory.
 
Monroe-Bronx had three players of their five starters and four total register double-figure scoring efforts on the night, with 2024 All-Region 15 First Team selection Daysiah Smith carrying the torch with a double-double, scoring a team-high 36 points and distributing a game-high 11 dimes while Tymere Moorer and Angeleno Cobos chipped in with 14 and 11 points, respectively. 

 
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