By: Michael L. Damon
mdamon@jjay.cuny.edu
(212) 237-8322
Box Score Box Score
A statement from head coach
Diane Ramirez: "On behalf of the coaching staff and players, I just wanted to thank everyone that came out to support us today. We especially want to thank Coach Palumbo for the wonderful support! We look forward to the semis and hopefully many of you can come support the Bloodhounds!"
New York, N.Y.— Thrilling! Exciting! Electric! These are just a couple of words to describe John Jay's first ever playoff game in Doghouse history. And in the end it was the Bloodhounds who came out on top as the the women's basketball team defeated York College 94-86 in the quarterfinal round of the 2010-11 City University of New York Athletic Conference / Con Edison women's basketball championship.
With the win, John Jay, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, improves to 11-15 overall and advances to the semifinal round on Tuesday against top seeded Baruch College at 6 p.m. at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York. York College's season ends at 10-16.
The Bloodhounds were led by
Jessica Lirio with a game-high 32 points, while
Dominique Grice scored 18 (and eclipsed 1,500 for her career in the process) and dished out 12 assists.
Elizabeth Newton and
Jamecia Forsythe had 15 points each, while Newton grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, helping John Jay to a 51-34 edge in rebounding.
York was led by Letanya Grady with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Elizabeth Padilla had 17 points and five assists. Shadae Rice and Maimouna Dabo had 12 points each for the Cardinals.
"The girls stepped up when they needed to. Liz (
Elizabeth Newton) has been our most consistent player the last couple of games and tonight she dominated the paint. Jessica, Dominique, and Jamecia played at the level they were supposed to all season," said head coach
Diane Ramirez. "York played a great game but we just inched them out when we needed to."
The first half of competition seemed to resemble that of a video game on level easy as both schools shot the eyes out of the ball. John Jay shot 55.6 percent (20-for-36) from the floor, while York connected on 54.5 percent (18-for-33) of its field goal attempts through the first twenty minutes.
The game saw 17 lead changes and 11 ties, including 10 lead changes and seven ties in the high octane first half alone.
The game saw the first six field goal attempts connect before a miss.
Despite the rapid see-saw first half, John Jay had the lead a tad longer and led by as much as six in the first half, and grabbed a 39-33 lead with 6:11 to play.
But York raced back and the two squads traded baskets for much of the remainder. But the Cardinals took control in the late stages of the first half.
Despite John Jay's 47 first half points, which were scored through the first 17 minutes, it was not enough to lead as York closed out the first half on an 8-0 run over the final three minutes to go into halftime up 51-47.
York appeared to take control through the first several minutes of the second half. The Cardinals held a slim lead through the first four minutes and led 55-54 with three minutes gone by. But York proceeded with another 8-0 run that gave them their largest lead of the night and were up 63-54 with 15:12 to go.
But the Bloodhounds hung around did not let York's lead get too out of control. John Jay followed by scoring the next seven points to pull to within a pair with just over 13 minutes remaining.
York spurted away again and took a five point lead momentarily at 66-61. But John Jay answered the call with a 6-0 run that gave the Bloodhounds their first lead of the second half with 10:12 to go on a jumper by Forsythe.
The two teams went back and forth the next few minutes. But with York leading by a point, John Jay went on a 6-0 spurt to take a 76-71 lead with eight and a half to play on a Lirio lay-up.
But York was pesky and battled back. The Cardinals took another lead with just over four minutes to go and they led 84-82.
The Bloodhounds ultimately took the lead for good with 3:40 remaining on a Grice lay-up that made the score 85-54. Grice's lay-up came in the midst of a 12-2 run that John Jay closed out the game with, giving the Bloodhounds their first conference playoff win since the 2006-07 season.
York outscored John Jay 24-9 on points off turnovers in the first half, before the Bloodhounds bettered them in the second half 11-4. Overall, York held a 28-20 advantage in that department. The Bloodhounds held a 44-42 edge on points in the paint.
