By: Michael L. Damon
mdamon@jjay.cuny.edu
(212) 237-8322
Box Score Box Score
New York, N.Y.— Senior guard
Jessica Lirio scored a game-high 30 points and eclipsed the 1,000 career point barrier in the process, but the Bloodhounds ran out of gas late as the John Jay women's basketball team was defeated by the City College of New York (CCNY) 86-77 in overtime at Nat Holman Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Bloodhounds fall to 10-12 overall and 7-4 in City University of New York Athletic Conference play. CCNY earned a win it needed to remain on the inside track to a playoff spot in the conference championship later this month.
Behind Lirio's 30 points,
Dominique Grice netted 12 points and had a career-high 14 assists.
Allana Beddoe had 11 points, and
Chantelle Smith chipped in with 10.
Jamecia Forsythe had nine points to go along with a game-high 16 rebounds.
CCNY was led by Syreeta Williams with 19 points.
The visiting Bloodhounds went nip and tuck with the host Beavers through most of the first half. John Jay led by as much as six, while CCNY led by as much as eight in the opening stanza.
John Jay took a lead early and was ahead 12-6 with 11:51 to go on a lay-up by Lirio which at the time left her four points away from the milestone. The Bloodhounds maintained a half dozen point advantage and were up 17-11 with 8:27 to go.
But CCNY battled back and grabbed an eight point lead in the latter stages of the first half. Behind a 16-2 run, the Beavers took the six point deficit and converted it into a 27-19 with just under three minutes to go.
But John Jay scored the final six points of the half to pull back to within two. Lirio scored the last two points of the half with a lay-up with 1:06 to go to earn her 1,000th career point. CCNY went into halftime up 27-25.
The Bloodhounds regained the lead early in the second half. They started the stanza with a 13-3 run to take a 38-30 lead with 15:18 to go.
But CCNY came right back and used an 18-4 run to take a 48-42 lead with 8:28 remaining.
The Bloodhounds hung around stayed within no more than two possessions. The game saw 12 ties, including nine in the second half. John Jay finally retook the lead with 1:44 to go on a three point field goal by Beddoe that put the Bloodhounds up 58-56.
After a brief CCNY lead and two more ties, John Jay led again on a Lirio lay-up with twenty-two seconds left that made the score 65-64 before the Beavers tied the game with a foul shot to send the game into an extra session.
CCNY opened the extra session on a 12-4 run and led the entire five minutes. The Beavers eventually led by 11, their biggest lead of the night, before the final buzzer.
John Jay held a 37-22 advantage on points in the paint and a 59-45 rebounding edge.
John Jay returns to action on Thu. Feb. 10 at Baruch College at 5:30 p.m.
