New York, NY – The women's basketball team hosted the Lightning of Lehman College earlier this evening at the Sportsplex in a CUNYAC contest. A big second half by the visitors set the Purple and Gold into a double digit deficit by the half which they were unable to claw their way back from. The 85-61 loss drops the Hawks to 8-15, 5-10 CUNYAC.
 
Four Hawks registered double figures with CUNYAC Rookie of the Week, Christine Patterson, scoring 15 while teammate Ashley Yu chipped in with 13 of her own. Ayanna Hudson was just one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards while Azra Nikocevic made a big impact with 12 points in just 12 minutes of action.
 
The first quarter was a low scoring affair which was led by the Lightning the whole way. Seven unanswered points sent the Hawks back by seven, but buckets from Yu, Ayanna Hudson and Patterson brought their team back in it as they cut the deficit to just a point. Lehman closed the quarter on a Yarmese Jones layup to set Hunter back by three heading into the second.
 
In the second, Hunter trailed by five with 5:11 showing. However, an 11-2 run ensued over the next 2:03, making it a 14 point game before Nikocevic stopped the bleeding. After expanding the differential to 17, an Amely Del Rosario triple to close the half set the stage for a score of 40-24 to start the third.
 
Back-to-back jumpers by Patterson in the third brought the game to within nine at 42-33, but the visitors gradually grew their advantage to as much as 21 while another Del Rosario layup to close the quarter made it a 20-point difference. Despite their highest offensive output in the final quarter, the Hawks were unable to bridge the gap over the final 10 minutes, ultimately falling by a final score of 85-61.
 
Hunter returns to action on Friday, February 12 when they host SUNY Purchase in their final home game of the regular season at 6pm.