New York, NY – The Hunter women's basketball team hosted the Tip-Off Tournament this weekend featuring Centenary, St. Joseph's (LI) and Claremont Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The Purple and Gold clawed their way to a two-point win over Centenary on the first day of action, 69-67, but were out-matched against Claremont Mudd-Scripps in the Championship, 73-35 in the final day.
 
Centenary (Box Score)
Freshman Jade Aponte led two other Hawks in double-digit scoring while two recorded double-doubles. Aponte sunk five from downtown which helped contribute to her 21-point performance while Widly Couloute was an efficient 6-10 from the field with 17 points to compliment her 11 rebounds. Ayanna Hudson also recorded a double-double with 11 boards and 10 rebounds.
 
As a team, the Hawks shot 43.6% (24-55) from the field and an impressive 52.6% (10-19) from three-point land. They capitalized on 18 Centenary turnovers and put an additional 20 points on the board as a result of their counterpart's miscues. The Hawks also won the battle of the boards, grabbing 28 misses compared to the Cyclone's 26.
 
Leading from the first basket, the Hawks led by nine at the conclusion of the first and increased it to as much as 10 in the second. The first tie of the game did not occur until the 4:30 mark of the third period when the scoreboard read 51-51. With 23 seconds left, a converted three-point play by Nicole Cartaino made it a 56-53 game in favor of the Cyclones while giving them their first lead of the game.
 
Hunter trailed through the first half of the final quarter and tied it on a layup by Couloute, 62-62. After a back-and-forth encounter, Hudson's jumper at the 1:27 mark gave Hunter a one point cushion which proved to be just enough to close out the game. Three foul shots from Aponte proved to be the nail in the coffin as Centenary ran out of time with the came closing 69-67 in favor of the hosts.
 
Claremont Mudd-Scripps (Box Score)
Couloute scored 16 in the loss while Christine Patterson chipped in with eight; six of which came from the charity stripe. As a team, the Hawks struggled from the floor, connecting on just 12 of 45 attempts from the field and sunk just two of 14 from three-point land. They were only able to manage 13 boards while CMS muscled down 33.
 
Patterson's two free throws and a jumper from Hudson were the only points Hunter was able to muster in the first quarter as their struggles from the field began early. The duo combined for the next nine points in the second as they found themselves down by 22 by halftime.
Unable to knock down shots and with CMS shooting 50% from the field, Hunter was stuck in a double digit deficit from the get-go and ultimately fell, 73-35.
 
The Hawks return to action on Tuesday, November 24 when they host the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island in their first CUNYAC contest of the 2015-16 season. Tip-off is slated for a 5:30pm start.