New York, NY – The John Jay women’s basketball team used a 15-3 run to take a 41-40 lead and turn it into a 56-43 cushion, as senior forward Melissa Escalera (Bronx, NY/ Adali E Stevenson) scored all 15 John Jay points during the run, on her way to a season-high 36, as the Bloodhounds defeated New York City College of Technology (NYCCT) 65-55 at the Doghouse on Wednesday evening.

 

The win improves John Jay to 12-6 (6-1 CUNYAC), while NYCCT falls to 9-8 (3-4 CUNYAC).

 

Escalera also recorded a team co-high seven rebounds in the win as John Jay has rallied off six consecutive conference wins.

 

The Bloodhounds led for the first 19 minutes of play, and opened the game on an 8-2 spurt to take the lead early. They would lead by as much as eight in the opening stanza before NYCCT mounted a rally late in the half.

 

With John Jay ahead 28-20 with 4:12 to play, the visiting Yellow Jackets went on an 11-2 run to take a 31-30 lead on a pair of free throws by Mareena Creary (Brooklyn, NY/ Midwood) with 31 seconds remaining to give NYCCT the lead at halftime.

 

The two went back-and-forth the first couple of minutes of the second half. But John Jay took the lead for good on a jumper by Sha-kia Hart (Brooklyn, NY/ Graham School) with 14:52 to play to give the Bloodhounds a 39-38 lead.

 

And with John Jay still up by a point (41-40) at the 13:32 mark, Escalera single-handily outscored the Yellow Jackets, 15-3, to take a 56-43 lead with 8:34 remaining to put the game away. She was 6-for-6 from the floor during the run, and 3-for-4 from the foul line.

 

The Bloodhounds led by as much as 15 and were never threatened en route to victory.

 

Escalera shot 14-for-18 from the field, while Hart knocked in 10 off the bench. Michelle Wallace (Flushing, NY/ Robert F Kennedy) chipped in with seven rebounds in the win.

 

The Bloodhounds shot 51 percent from the floor (26-for-51) for the game, including 58 percent (15-for-26) in the second half.

 

The Yellow Jackets were led in scoring by Kemi Owoseni (Brooklyn, NY/ Brooklyn Technical) and Creary with 14 points a piece.

 

John Jay will return to action on Fri. Jan. 19 against York College, 5 p.m. at the Doghouse.