Brooklyn, N.Y.— The John Jay women’s basketball team earned its first conference win of the season as the Bloodhounds defeated Brooklyn College, 57-49, at Brooklyn College’s Roosevelt Gym on Wednesday. John Jay is now 3-11 (1-4 CUNYAC) on the season.
The Bloodhounds were paced by Ganimete Ukperaj (Bellmore, NY / John F. Kennedy) with a team-high 19 points. She shot 7-for-14 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from three point range. Fellow teammate Dominique Grice (North Babylon, NY / North Babylon) added 18 points, six rebounds, and team highs of five assists and five steals. Parker Griffin (New York, NY / Bishop Kearney) added a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Both teams went back and forth the first several minutes of the contest. The game saw three ties in the first eight minutes with John Jay yet to hold a lead.
But the Bloodhounds earned its first lead of the night at the 10:57 point of the first half on a three point field goal by Ukperaj.
The two teams stayed within striking range of each other and the Bloodhounds never led by more than three points the rest of the first half. Brooklyn led by as much as four in the final minute.
John Jay grabbed a three point lead on numerous occasions in the opening half, and as late as the final 2:16 of the half when the Bloodhounds grabbed a 21-18 lead on a pair of free throws by Janina Jurewicz-Johnson (New York, NY / Beacon School), who scored six points and added seven rebounds on the evening.
But Brooklyn used a 7-0 run to grab a four point lead with seventeen seconds remaining before going into halftime up two at 25-23.
The host Bridges held the Bloodhounds at bay during the early portion of the second half. Never trailing through beginning stages Brooklyn led by as much as five, most recently at the 11:38 mark to make the score 34-29.
Still trailing by four (36-32) the Bloodhounds used an 11-0 game changing run to grab a seven point lead (43-36) with 7:24 to play on another Ukperaj three pointer.
The run gave the Bloodhounds a lead they would not relinquish as John Jay kept the Bridges in check.
Brooklyn failed to get to within five points of the lead, and the Bloodhounds led by as much as nine before it was all said and done. A jumper by Griffin with 1:26 to play gave John Jay a 55-46 lead to put the exclamation point on the contest.
John Jay returns to action on Fri. Jan. 11 for a home contest with Medgar Evers College at 5 p.m.
