New York, NY - The John Jay women's basketball team held a 65-61 lead with twenty-seven second remaining in regulation following a pair of made free-throws from
Ayanna Edwards.
Following a timeout by Hunter, Alexa Charles hit a stepback jumper to cut the lead to two, 65-63. The Hawks nearly found the tying basket but misfired on two chances as the Bloodhounds held on for a 65-63 win on Friday at the Hunter Sportsplex.
With the victory, John Jay improves to 7-6 overall and 1-1 in CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) action. Hunter falls to 5-9 and 1-2 in league action.
Three Bloodhounds finished in double-figures, led by graduate guard
Kamryn Hammond, who enjoyed a milestone evening. The Poughkeepsie, NY native finished the contest with her sixth double-double of the season and eighth as a Bloodhound, finishing with a team-high 17 points and 15 rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
Hammond, competing in her 58th career collegiate game, converted on a three-pointer at the 7:59 mark of the first quarter, to reach 1,000 career points.
Ashley Zeolla notched her eighth career double-double, as she finished with 16 points on 7 of 18 shooting from the field while converting on her first career-three pointer at the 6:01 mark of the third quarter.
The Yorktown Heights, NY product corralled ten rebounds, eight of which coming on the defensive end.
Chayanne Kelly rounded out the double-figure scoring by the Bloodhounds as she added 11 points.
Edwards netted nine points, going 5 of 8 from the free throw line, hitting those two critical free throws with 27 seconds left.
Hannah Ruberto provided productive minutes off the bench, scoring eight points, grabbing nine rebounds and dished out career-high five assists in the win.
Alexa Charles led all scorers with 22 points, while converting on 10 of 28 from the floor and also recording a double-double, the 18th of her career, as she grabbed 16 rebounds in 37 minutes.
Erin Cosio was also in double digits, as she netted 15 while going a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line.
The visitors raced out to a 8-2 lead, as Hammond drilled the milestone three-pointer from the corner in front of the Hawks bench. Ruberto added a layup to extend the lead further.
Charles halted the run, briefly, before the Bloodhounds concluded the frame on a 10-3 run and leading 20-7.
The John Jay defense was on full display, as they limited the Hawks to just a 2 of 17 start (11.8 percent).
Hunter commenced the second quarter with a 9-0 run that saw the Hawks trail by just four, 20-16, following a pair of makes from the line by Makkedah Murrya.
Over the final five minutes, John Jay did outscore Hunter, 15-12, with Hammond scoring seven of the 15 points. Charles and Cosio powered the Hawks as John Jay went into the break with 35-28 lead.
The Hawks shot 41.2 percent in the second quarter to get back in the contest, as they forced five John Jay turnovers, leading to 13 points in the quarter.
Hunter continued to seize the momentum in the third quarter, outscoring John Jay, 18-11, as the game was tied at 46, following a Zeolla layup from Hammond.
The two teams traded point before the 3:29 mark, in which Zeolla hit on a jumper that gave the Bloodhounds 57-54 lead.
John Jay's final eight points came from the free throw line as the defense stood tall in thwarting Charles and others to tie the game.
The Bloodhounds finished the game shooting 34.3 percent from the field and limited Hunter to just 28.4 percent, which includes a 23.7 clip from the outside.
John Jay closes out their road trip on Wednesday, January 10, as they take on Baruch at 5:30 p.m.
