Brooklyn, N.Y.— The John Jay women’s basketball team mounted a ferocious rally in the second half to overcome a large deficit and send the game into overtime, but not quite enough as the Bloodhounds were defeated on the road, losing at New York City College of Technology (NYCCT) 56-55 on Wednesday evening.
John Jay trailed big at various stages of the contest and came back each time. The host Yellow Jackets jumped out on a 12-4 run to start the contest, and led 16-7 with just over eight minutes to play.
But John Jay went on a 15-6 spurt to get to within one point of the lead (19-18) with 3:21 to play on a lay-up by Jessica Lirio (New York, NY / St. Barnabas) who had six points, three assists, and two steals.
Both teams remained close in the final stages of the first half as NYCCT went into halftime up 21-20.
The Yellow Jackets gradually pulled away in the second half. With the score tied 24-24 with 17:11 to play, NYCCT outscored the Bloodhounds 18-7 over the next several minutes to grab its biggest lead of the night, an 11 point cushion (42-31) with just over eight minutes to play.
But John Jay rallied back.
The Bloodhounds used a quick 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 42-37 with 7:31 to play on a jumper by Dominique Grice (North Babylon, NY / North Babylon) who recorded a team-high 10 points and a game-high eight steals.
NYCCT went back up by eight moments later, but the Bloodhounds answered with a 6-1 spurt to get the lead down to three (47-44) with 4:42 to play on a lay-up by Zadoora Carson (New York, NY / Urban Peace Academy), who scored six points in the contest.
The Bloodhounds still trailed by seven (53-46) with just under three minutes to play, but John Jay closed out the half on a 7-0 run to force overtime.
A lay-up by Parker Griffin (New York, NY / Bishop Kearney) with 2:36 remaining made the score 53-48. Griffin recorded nine points and grabbed a team co-high 14 rebounds along with Tina Ogunleye (Islandia, NY / Central Islip).
After an empty trip by the Yellow Jackets, the Bloodhounds scored again on a put back by Carson with 2:12 to play.
The Bloodhounds then capitalized on a NYCCT turnover when Ganimete Ukperaj (Bellmore, NY / John F Kennedy) nailed a jumper with 1:30 to play to get the Bloodhounds to within one.
John Jay then evened the score, for the first time since it was 24-24 early in the second half, when Griffin connected on one of two from the foul line in the final minute.
In the extra session the Bloodhounds got their first lead of the night on a lay-up by Ukperaj, who had seven points in the contest, to start the overtime scoring.
But it was the only two points John Jay would get in overtime, as neither team shot well (John Jay 1-for-8, NYCCT 0-for-4), but the Yellow Jackets, who shot 39 percent from the free throw line (14-for-36) connected on three free throws (all of which were one-for-two trips) which proved to be enough as John Jay is now 3-14 (1-6 CUNYAC).
John Jay returns to action on Fri. Jan. 18 at York College at 6 p.m.
