JOHNSTOWN – Highly regarded Division-I Monroe CC came to the FM campus with a 9-1 record on Thursday evening. The Lady Tribunes lived up to their billing and rolled past the FM squad 79-40.

Fulton-Montgomery, along with all other members of the Mountain Valley Conference, is a Division III school. Division III schools do not give athletic scholarships, and they generally limit their teams' travel to modest distances. Division I schools can give athletic scholarships, often have more extensive travel, and compete at a somewhat higher level of play.

Photo:  FM's Monae Abrams shooting – Abrams tallied eight points against Monroe

Thursday evening's non-conference, non-division contest was a good experience for the Raiders. They saw how a much taller team with scholarship players can play the game. 

FM got on the scoreboard first. Freshman Stephanie Rice put back a rebound of Kassandra Flowers' shot for a 2-0 lead. Moments later, Rice sank a long two-pointer, and FM led 4-3.

The visiting Lady Tribunes then got their game in gear. They sank two quick shots from behind the arc, added a two-pointer, and led 11-4.  Monroe added another three-pointer, en route to sinking half a dozen shots from three-point range in the first half. Rice hit another long two, making the score 14-6.

Photo:  This long two by Stephanie Rice put FM ahead 4-3.

Monroe's height and talent began to prove too much for the Raiders. The Tribunes are tall, with seven players standing from 5' 9" to 6' 2". They are also quick, accurate shooters who play tight defense. 

Rice went on to tally 15 points, and Abrams added 8 to the FM ledger. In all, eight Lady Raiders scored against the Tribunes. But the final score was 79-40 in the visitors' favor.

The Lady Raiders' schedule now returns to Division III play. The FM team is currently ranked fourth among the 15 Region 3 teams by the weekly Region 3 coaches' poll.

The Raiders have a big road weekend ahead with one conference game and one non-conference contest awaiting them. FM will play at 3-3 SUNY Adirondack on Saturday and at 5-1 Jefferson CC on Sunday. Tip time for both games is 1:00 p.m.

                           C.J. Bonny, website writer

Scoring:

Monroe:  38-41--79;  record 10-1

FMCC:    25-14--40;  record  3-2

Monroe:  Ratliff 9, Coe 6, Aeklin 9, Hixson 4, Williams 17, Ayala 8, Barr 6, Jones 16, Haynes 4; Total 79

FMCC:  Jordan 2, Chea 3, Flowers 3, Rice 15, Evanda Redwood 4, Abrams 8, Erica Redwood 1, Gayle 4;  Total 40