Box Score
Jamaica, NY – On Monday, February 14, the women's basketball team took on the Cardinals of York College in their final game of the regular season. The Hawks were able to stay close during the first ten minutes of the opening half, but the Cardinals began to pull away. Despite a valiant effort and a 30 point performance by freshman Kristen Markoe, Hunter was not able to close the gap and fell 82-68. With the loss, the Hawks drop to 9-17, 6-7 CUNYAC while the Cardinals move to 10-16, 7-6 CUNYAC.
Maimouna Dabo netted a quick layup off the opening tip off to get the game started, but Nicole Lenard immediately responded with a layup of her own on a feed from teammate Marta Banach. In the ensuing five minutes, each team swapped the lead on ten occasions with Kristen Markoe scoring eight of the Hawks' 14 points during the lead exchanges. At the 13:52 mark, Maimouna scored her sixth point of the half and put the Cardinals up 15-14, sparking a run that would set the Hawks back by as much as 16 points in the first half. With just over four minutes left to play in the half, Lenard successfully converted on a three point play to cut the lead down to 12, and then came through again in the final minute of the game scoring off of a Banach steal to set the score at 48-37 as both teams headed into the locker rooms.
In the second half, both teams struggled to make a bucket for the first 3:13, but eventually found their groove as the Hawks managed to cut down the lead to single digits at the 11:41 mark thanks to Markoe's two made attempts from the charity stripe. It would be as close as they would get as York built up a 17 point cushion with just over three minutes to go and held off Hunter for the remainder of the game,
Markoe had a game and career high 30 points and also had the game high in rebounds with 10. Lenard added 13 points and eight rebounds while Shamel Jaime chipped in with nine points. Shadae Rice led the way for the Cardinals with 26 points while three other players scored in the double digits.
With the loss, Hunter was awarded the #6 seen in the CUNYAC Playoffs with the rankings as follows:
1.
Baruch (20-4, 13-0 CUNYAC)
2.
Brooklyn (15-9, 11-2 CUNYAC)
3. Lehman (15-9, 9-4 CUNYAC)
4. John Jay (10-14, 7-6 CUNYAC)
5. York (10-15, 7-6 CUNYAC)
6. Hunter (9-16, 6-7 CUNYAC)
7. Staten Island (8-15, 6-7 CUNYAC)
8. CCNY (5-20, 3-10 CUNYAC)
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Feb. 19
CCNY at Baruch, 1 p.m.
York at John Jay, 3:30 p.m.
Hunter at Lehman, 2 p.m.
Staten Island at Brooklyn, 1 p.m.
Semifinals - at Nat Holman Gymnasium (CCNY)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
York/John Jay winner vs. CCNY/Baruch winner, 6 p.m.
Hunter/Lehman winner vs. Staten Island/Brooklyn winner, 8 p.m.
Finals - at Nat Holman Gymnasium (CCNY)
Saturday, Feb. 26
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.
