NEW YORK, NY - The visiting John Jay College women's basketball team led throughout tonight's game but Hunter rallied to overcome a 12-point deficit in the second, striking in the final two minutes of play to claim a 62-54 victory over the Bloodhounds on Senior Night at the Sportsplex.

Hunter improved to 10-11 overall and 8-1 in the CUNYAC while the Bloodhounds fell to 6-13 overall and 3-6 in league play.

Hunter celebrated graduate student Megan McKenna and senior Johanna Keilwitz prior to tonight's game and fittingly, both finished the game among the Hawks' top scorers. Freshman Shatira Hamlet led all scorers with 16 points, including five down the stretch while adding five assists. Keilwitz finished with 16 points and six boards while McKenna tallied 14 points and seven boards to guide the Hawks to victory.

With the Bloodhounds ahead, 54-48 with 4:02 left to play, Hunter saw Hamlet connect on a pair of layups to cut the visitor's lead to just three, 54-51. Then, Alease Vaughan stepped out, draining a deep jumper to cut the Bloodhounds lead to one (54-53) with 2:59 left in the game. Nearly a minute later, Keilwitz scored a layup to put the Hawks in front by a bucket as Hunter took a 55-54 lead with 2:05 to go. From there, the Hawks defense tightened up, and didn't allow a John Jay basket as the offense exploded on a 8-0 run to close out the stanza and give Hunter tonight's 62-54 victory.

Hunter held a shortlived 4-0 lead to start the game as the Bloodhounds quickly responded, going on a 19-6 run over 11 minutes to push in front, 19-10 with 8:09 left to play. Despite trading possessions for the remainder of the half, Hunter saw the Bloodhounds enter the locker room with an eight-point lead, 28-20.

Thanks to a much improved shooting effort in the second half, Hunter finished the night 44% from the field and 53% at the charity stripe. The Hawks forced 25 John Jay turnovers and came up with nine steals to round out a solid team victory.

Jamecia Forsythe led all scorers with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Hunter returns to competition this Sunday, Feburary 5th as it travels to Lehman College for a 12pm tip-off. Please note, the game will be played at Mt. St. Michael's Academy in the Bronx, located at 4300 Murdock Ave. Fans should stay tuned to www.huntercollegeathletics.com for more information regarding transportation and a fan van accessible to students with valid identification cards tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 2nd.