Women's Basketball Ends Season With Loss to Bowdoin in NCAA First Round

Jade Aponte Finishes With A Career-High 36 Points

BOX SCORE Brunswick, Maine - Hunter College women's basketball ended the 2018-19 season on Friday night with a loss to Bowdoin College, 93-73, in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Hawks trailed by as much as 41 points in the fourth quarter, but rallied back to fall by just 20.

"It was an amazing year," said head coach John Garrett. "We accomplished so many goals, from winning the regular-season to earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in over a decade.

"The credit goes to the team and especially the seniors, who have grown over the last four years, developing into players that have made a huge impact on not just the basketball team, but the Hunter athletics program as a whole."

Six quick points from the Polar Bears in the first minute made the Hawks have to play catch up early on in the game. Hunter struggled to convert on shots, trailing 10-0 at the 7:28 minute mark as Bowdoin made their first six shots of the game. A three from Jade Aponte finally silenced the Bowdoin run, but the Polar Bears responded with an immediate two points to continue the lead.

Bowdoin shot 11-19 in the first quarter to take a commanding 28-9 advantage.

The Purple and Gold got back in the game in the second as Selina Lim scored two points to start the quarter. With seven minutes left in the half the Hawks forced a turnover after recording back-to-back points from Christine Patterson and Jade Aponte to spark a 9-2 run.

Despite the improvement on offense the Hawks still gave up points to the Polar Bears, who registered 26 to Hunter's 21. Phoebe Valenton hit a three to end the quarter for Hunter, who went into halftime down, 54-30.

Both teams came out in the third cold, but the Hawks managed to outscore the Polar Bears 8-6 in the first five minutes, led by five points from Marlena Budna. Bowdoin's shots began to fall as they took a 77-46 edge to end the quarter.

Lim hit a layup and Aponte earned a steal to open up the fourth quarter, but the Hawks would go on a four-minute drought, giving up nine points to the Polar Bears.

Two-straight three-pointers from Theresa Leung and Aponte got 54 points on the board for the Purple and Gold. From there Aponte took control of the game, scoring 15 points over the last four minutes to lead Hunter. The Hawks managed to cut Bowdoin's lead from 41 points to just 20, eventually falling with a final score of 93-73.

Aponte finished with a career-high of 36 points in her last collegiate game, scoring 18 in the fourth quarter alone. Lim followed with ten points for the Purple and Gold.

The Hawks close out the 2018-19 year as one of the best teams in Hunter history, capturing the CUNYAC Championship for the first time in 15 seasons.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Jade Aponte: G; 5' 5"; Senior; Sr.

#33 Marlena Budna: F; 6' 1"; Sophomore; Sr.

#13 Theresa Leung: G; 5' 4"; Junior; Jr.

#24 Selina Lim: G; 5' 5"; Senior; Sr.

#21 Christine Patterson: G/F; 5' 9"; Senior; Sr.

#0 Phoebe Valenton: G; 5' 3"; Junior; Jr.

Players Mentioned

#11 Jade Aponte
: 5' 5"; Senior; Sr.
: G

#33 Marlena Budna
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; Sr.
: F

#13 Theresa Leung
: 5' 4"; Junior; Jr.
: G

#24 Selina Lim
: 5' 5"; Senior; Sr.
: G

#21 Christine Patterson
: 5' 9"; Senior; Sr.
: G/F

#0 Phoebe Valenton
: 5' 3"; Junior; Jr.
: G