New York, NY - The No. 4-seeded John Jay women's basketball team trailed 4-0 to commence the contest, but the Bloodhounds didn't waver, as they regained their composure in besting the No. 5 seed Baruch College Bearcats, 94-72, to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 CUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday.

With the victory, the Bloodhounds (11-15; 8-6 CUNYAC) will move on to face the top-seed Brooklyn College on Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m., while the Bearcats conclude their season, finishing the year at 11-15 and 7-7 in league play.

A season-high six Bloodhounds finished in double-figures, led by freshman Bryan Bascones, who tallied a team-high 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field. The Worcester, MA native grabbed eight rebounds while adding two assists and a block in 31 minutes of play.

Junior forward Michaela Lattimore extended her double-double streak to 19 straight games, as the Morristown, NJ native recorded her 22nd career double-double, ending the contest with 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting while procuring 14 rebounds. Lattimore added three assists and two blocks in 21 minutes of action.

Miah Crockett chipped in 14 points, six rebounds on 3 of 10 shooting, but connected for a team-high 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Natalie Simonds went 7 of 7 from the charity stripe to notch 13 points while the Durham, NJ native grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists, and had two steals. 

Briana Minick finished with 12 points while Essence Richardson added 11 points. Alexis Jones finished with eight points and tied for the team lead with two steals in 19 minutes.

Baruch had three players score in double digits. Isabella Kostyal-Larrier scored a game-high 20 points on 7 of 25 shooting. Lola De Luka added 17 points (7 of 12 shooting). Lola Idir scored 16 points, including 12 from three-point range.

Baruch took its lone lead of the contest, opening the game with a 4-0 advantage behind baskets from Idir and Precious Mitchell. John Jay answered back, thanks to a 17-7 run, in which the Bloodhounds were a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line, with Simonds and Minick combining for 13 of the 17 points.

De Luka hit a three-pointer to shortly halt the run, but Bascones drilled her patent baseline jumper as John Jay finished the quarter scoring six of the final ten points to lead 23-18.

John Jay continued its efficient shooting by opening the quarter on a 16-6 run, extending its lead to 39-24, as Bascones led the way with six points, including a mid-range jumper with 4:30 to go before halftime.The two teams exchanged points, but the Bloodhounds jumped well ahead, 51-34, following a triple from Crockett with time winding down in the quarter.

The Bloodhounds shot 52.4 percent from the floor in the second quarter and doubled up on the boards, 16-8, in taking a 51-35 halftime lead.

Momentum continued to favor the home team, as John Jay opened the third quarter on a 6-0 burst, increasing the lead to 57-35 following a Crockett layup. Idir hit from the top of the key to halt the run, but Simonds quickly responded on the other end with a layup.

Over the final 6:30 of the third, the two teams were equally economical from the floor, as John Jay went 8 of 16 over that stretch to Baruch's 5 of 10. Jones followed up on a miss by Simonds and heaved up a last-second field goal that banked off the window and in as the Bloodhounds led 74-52 after three.

Baruch opened the fourth quarter with a pair of threes from Idir and De Luka before Lattimore muscled in for two to complete the double-double. It would be the combination of Lattimore-Bascones over the next four minutes, as the two combined for 11 points as the John Jay lead swelled to 87-64 with 3:44 left to play in regulation.

The visitors finished scoring eight of the final 15 points, but John Jay secured the win as they head back to the semifinals for the sixth consecutive time under head coach Lynda Day.

For the game, the Bloodhounds shot 44.7 percent en route to posting their highest-scoring game of the season. John Jay converted a season-high 95.8 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 23 of 24, the highest such conversion rate since 93.3 percent against Saint Joseph (CT) on November 19, 2024. John Jay held a 56-42 edge on the board, despite both teams corralling 19 offensive rebounds.