NEW YORK, N.Y. – The York College women's basketball team fell short on the road at Hunter College, 61-56, in a tough matchup.
 
The game came down to the final minutes of the second half. The Hawks hung onto a single-digit lead for most of the half. York (7-17, 4-12 CUNYAC) had a chance to take its first lead of the game with 1:48 to go when Tamika Taylor hit a jumper to cut the Hawk's lead to 2. However, after Taylor's jumper, Hunter's Joey Chan got an and-one and eventually hit the free throw to put Hunter up five. The Hawks would close the game and hold on.
 
The Cardinals were once again hurt by their slow start offensively. Turnovers hurt the Cardinals for the first two minutes of the second half. Then, the lights turned on for York. Taylor really stepped up in the second half. The senior, who is playing in her last regular season game, put the team on her back. Taylor got a key steal and hit three-pointer to decrease the lead to four with 13:57 to go. The two teams would then go back and forth exchanging baskets. The Cardinals hung around after allowing the Hawks to increase their lead to 12 with over 9 minutes to go. Again, York clawed back and with 5 minutes left to go, was only down one. Despite the comeback attempt by the Cardinals, they just could not find a way to take the lead.
 
York's start to the first half against Hunter reflected how the Cardinals finished their last game at Lehman. The Cardinals had five turnovers in the first three minutes of the game and didn't score until the 16:00 mark. At one point, York was down 23-7 with 10:26 to go after a layup from Ayanna Hudson. However, they picked up their energy and finished the half strongly. York finished the final 10 minutes of the half on a 19-8 run, including an amazing buzzer-beater three-pointer from Taylor.
 
York was led by Taylor who scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Angelika Ruggiano added 12 points.
 
Hunter (10-15, 7-9 CUNYAC) was paced by Kristen Markoe who contributed 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. Her teammate Joey Chan had a nice game, adding 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
York's next game will be in the CUNY Conference Tournament on February 21, 2015. The time and opponent will be announced on Wednesday.