The Bloodhounds finished the 2025-26 season with an overall record of 11-16 and 8-6 in league play, while the Bulldogs improved to 23-3 overall and will host the Hunter College Hawks in the championships on Friday evening.
Two Bloodhounds finished in double-figures, led by
Michaela Lattimore, who led all scorers with a career-high 30 points on 12 of 20 shooting from the field while collecting 22 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. For the Morristown, NJ native, this marked her 20th straight game recording a double-double while posting her 23rd of the season. For her career, Lattimore now stands at 39 career double-doubles.
Senior
Natalie Simonds recorded her first career double-double in her final contest as a Bloodhound, scoring ten points on 3 of 6 shooting while grabbing ten rebounds.
Bryan Bascones and
Essence Richardson each had nine points, while
Briana Minick finished with eight points and team-highs in assists (4) and steals (3) in 20 minutes of work.
Five Bulldogs recorded double-figures, led by Brianna Jackson, who netted a team-best 16 points on 7 of 17 shooting while dishing out nine assists, grabbing four steals and four rebounds in 31 minutes of work. Dior Dorsey added 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting while filling up the stat sheet, grabbing six rebounds, recording a team-best five steals, and recording two assists and two blocks. Adunoluwa Akinduyi added 12 points with Aaliyah McCalla and Danae McMullen contributing 11 and 10 points, respectively, on a combined 8 of 11 from the free-throw line, with McMullen pulling a team-high nine caroms.
Both teams traded buckets in the early portion of the contest before the Bloodhounds went ahead by three, 7-4, following a pair of made free throws from Minick with 6:55 left to go in the opening quarter. Brooklyn sparked an 8-3 run over the next 2:15 to take a 12-10 lead off a driving layup from Dorsey. John Jay kept pace, finishing the quarter scoring six of the final 11 points as they trailed by one, 17-16, as Richardson closed the quarter on a driving layup.
Richardson carried that momentum into the second quarter, starting things off with a layup off the feed from Lattimore as John Jay regained the lead at 18-17 before Anna Kitch nailed a three-pointer to put Brooklyn ahead for the time being. The Bloodhounds outscored Brooklyn, 10-7, over the next four minutes, holding a 28-27 advantage following a floating jumper by
Alexis Jones at the 5:19 mark. The Bulldogs limited the Bloodhounds to just three made field goals over the final 4:26 in taking a 43-37 halftime lead, but not before Bascones scored on a put-back layup.
Brooklyn opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run, capped by a Dorsey layup that propelled the lead to 55-39 before Lattimore converted on a turnaround jumper in the paint off the pass from Minick. The Bulldogs continued to increase their lead, staging a 15-4 run over a 3:31 stretch as Brooklyn led 70-45 following a Jackson floating jumper. The Bloodhounds fought back, sparking a 13-7 run to close out the quarter as Richardson hit a floating jumper and trailed 77-58.
John Jay fought to cut the deficit, getting to within 16 following a Simonds three-point at the 4:26 mark, but the Bulldogs pulled away to advance to Friday's championship game.
For the game, John Jay shot 37.0 percent from the field while Brooklyn hit on 40.0 percent. The Bloodhounds made just two three-pointers while the Bulldogs went 9 of 27 from long range. John Jay controlled the boards, outmuscling the Bulldogs, 60-49.
