New York, NY - The sixth seeded women's basketball team held off the seventh seeded Bloodhounds of John Jay in the first round of the CUNYAC Championship Tournament. Despite falling behind by seven at the half, the Hawks used two big final quarters to pull ahead and secure a 59-50 win. The victory bumps the Purple and Gold's record out to 10-16 overall as they advance into the next round where they will face #3 Staten Island on Sunday, February 21.

Ashley Yu poured in 19 points for a team high while Ayanna Hudson registered a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. Selina Lim did her part as she added 10 points in the win. As a team, Hunter was an impressive 14-18 from the charity stripe with Yu and Hudson accounting for 10 makes on 12 attempts.

The Purple and Gold jumped out to a 6-5 lead early on but allowed eight straight unanswered John Jay points to fall behind by seven. A Hudson free throw cut it to six heading into the second quarter. The struggles continued as the deficit grew to double digits with the score reading 21-11 with over seven minutes left before the half. Ashley Arias stopped the bleeding with a triple while Yu capped the first half with a made jumper to go into halftime down 23-16.

In the third, Hunter unleashed a 14-2 run in less than three minutes time to turn the 11 point deficit into a one point lead. Lim's back-to-back baskets, followed up by Yu's free throw gave their team a 37-33 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. John Jay did not go away without a fight and clawed their way back to tie the game at 43 with 4:49 left to play. With 57 seconds showing on the clock, Lim hit a big layup to push the Hawks out to a six point lead. Down the stretch, Hunter sealed the deal by drilling six of their final seven free throws to close the books on the 59-50 victory.

Hunter will play the #3 Dolphins of the College of Staten Island on Sunday, February 21 in the next round of the CUNYAC Tournament.