New York, NY – The women's basketball team kicked off the new year in winning fashion after coming through with a 55-54 victory over Alvernia. Despite leading by as much as 13 in the first quarter, the Hawks wound up trailing with less than a minute to play but knocked down three of their four free throw attempts to steal the game.
The Hawks (5-5) were led by
Janine Conway with 15 points and three blocks in 40 minutes of action while
Theresa Leung chipped in with 12 points.
Kristina Krslovic went 4-8 from the field which included 3-6 from deep for 11 points which complimented her five boards and three blocks. As a team, the Purple and Gold had eight blocks and 12 steals which turned into 18 points off of turnovers.
The first quarter was all Hunter despite Alvernia sinking the first bucket of the game. Krslovic knocked down the first of her three triples to get her squad going. They put together a 17-4 run which wound up being the largest lead of the game. The Golden Wolves struggled in the quarter, shooting just 2-9.
Both team struggled in the second offensively. Conway hit the quarter's final point on a free throw with 1:26 left on the scoreboard it proved to be the final points before halftime hit. At intermission, Hunter held a 25-18 upper hand.
It didn't take long for the visitors to pull even with Hunter, 27-27 with 5:20 left in the third after Gabriella DeVito knocked down two from the charity stripe. With 3:22 left in the game,
Maya Thompson connected on one of her two tries from the free throw line to make it a six point affair with Hunter holding the lead. The Golden Wolves put in an 8-0 run and led by two with 47 seconds to play.
Phoebe Valenton hit both of her attempts from the free throw line and then after a failed attempt from Alvernia, Leung knocked down one of two from the foul line with four seconds left. A last second attempt from the challenger's Abbie Zerbe came up short to give Hunter the win.
The Hawks are back in action on Saturday, January 4 when they head over to York College for a CUNYAC matchup. Tip off is slated for a 12pm start.
