Riverdale, NY - The John Jay women's basketball team held a 41-37 lead with 8:45 in the fourth, but the University of Mount Saint Vincent responded with a 17-3 run of their own that lifted the Dolphins past the Bloodhounds, 60-52, on Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard Ayanna Edwards led the way with a season-best 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting while dishing out a team-high four assists. Newcomer Briana Minick netted a career-high 11 points, hitting 3 of 4 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line in 17 minutes of action.

Erin Smith paced the Dolphins with 26 points to lead all scorers. Smith shot 8 of 16 from the field, which included 4 of 7 from three-point range. Kayla Hanley added 12 points, eight of which came from the free throw line on a perfect 8 of 8 shooting display. She, along with JaKaia Lotz, grabbed a team-high eight caroms.

The Bloodhounds withstood an early 6-0 run by the Dolphins as Edwards and Minick hit a pair of threes, but Smith gave UMSV the lead on a triple on the ensuing possession, as Mount Saint Vincent led, 9-6.

The Dolphins opened up an 11-point advantage, 19-8, thanks to a 10-2 burst that spanned 2:22 before Minick hit on one of two from the free-throw line. Zeolla brought the visitors closer with a contested layup in the paint with just five seconds left in the opening quarter as John Jay trailed 19-12.

Mulvey opened the scoring in the second quarter for the Dolphins with a layup off the feed from Julia Angeles, while Edwards hit a pair from the line to narrow the gap back to seven, 21-14. The Bloodhounds continued to capitalize on their chances from the free-throw line, as Minick hit a pair at the 6:31 mark to narrow the margin further, 21-16.

A 7-3 surge by the Bloodhounds got them to within one, 24-23, on a pair of made free-throws by Zeolla, before Smith hit another three-pointer on the opposite end. Zeolla continued to pace the offense, with a layup off the feed from Simonds, as the Bloodhounds trailed, 27-25, with 1:20 left. .

Just before the halftime horn sounded, Angelina Escobinas misfired on a three-pointer from the wing, with Lotz corralling the rebound and beating the horn as the Dolphins took a 29-25 lead into the break.

Following Mount Saint Vincent's hot start in the first quarter (shooting 70.0 percent), the Bloodhounds' defense held them to just 23.5 shooting in the second quarter (4 of 17), with the visitors continuing to bank on their chances from the line, finishing 7 of 10 in the second and 11 of 16 for the half. 

John Jay forced 13 turnovers in the first half, turning the Dolphins' mishaps into nine points.USMV held a 24-19 edge on the boards, 19-11, on the defensive glass.

The Bloodhounds opened the third quarter with back-to-back buckets, both coming from Edwards on a jumper and a wide-open layup on the left side before Burnett hit from the outside as the Dolphins regained the lead. Lattimore powered her way toward the goal on the right side, as she drew the contact and made the layup but couldn't complete the three-point play from the line at the 6:48 mark, as John Jay trailed by one, 32-31.

The Bloodhounds took their first lead of the contest at 4:49 when Edwards banked in the layup for her 12th point of the afternoon. It was short-lived, as Kayla Hanley converted on the other end, giving USMV the lead right back. Minick hit on a short-range jumper, and Zeolla kept the ball away from a defender and spotted Minick for the bucket while John Jay took the lead back.

Following a missed three-pointer from Grace Kennedy, Morgan Kimmi got the rebound and dished to Edwards, who went the length of the court and banked home a floating, left-hand jumper, giving John Jay a 37-35 edge Kennedy tied the game at 37 with free throws, but Edwards beat the buzzer along the baseline with a runner as the Bloodhounds took a 39-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bloodhounds' defense kept the defending Skyline champions at bay, as USMV shot 13.3 percent in the frame (2 of 15) while John Jay hit 35.0 percent.

Zeolla drove the lane and drew contact, making both her attempts from the charity stripe to commence the fourth quarter as the Bloodhounds led 41-37. The Dolphins ignited a 17-3 run over the next seven minutes, bringing their lead back to ten, as Smith connected on another trifecta with two minutes remaining in regulation. Mount Saint Vincent went 4 of 9 during the run while holding the visitors to just 1 of 8.

Jones stopped the run with a jumper off the pass from Edwards with 1:45 showing on the clock before Edwards hit the mid-range jumper, trimming the deficit down to 54-48. Kennedy grabbed the offensive rebound off the Smith missed a layup that pushed the lead back to eight, 56-48, before Lattimore hit, keeping John Jay in the contest.

Hanley made a pair from the line, extending the lead to eight, 58-50, with Jones answering on the other end with two makes.  Jones made two more from the line before the Bloodhounds fouled as Smith tacked on two more to seal the win for Mount Saint Vincent.

Both teams struggled from the outside for the game, hitting a combined 7 of 33 as USMV shot 26.3 percent.

John Jay will commence CUNYAC play on Friday, December 6, as they will travel to Brooklyn in a rematch of last season's championship match.

Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m.