JAMAICA, N.Y.— The York College women's basketball team earned a thrilling, 94-87, overtime victory over Hunter College on senior night, and it was the Cardinals' three seniors who came through in the biggest moments of the game.
Jigcara Grant had a game for the ages, scoring 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbing 30 rebounds. She continues to lead the country in rebounding with an average of 19.6—and with her performance tonight, it's unlikely anyone will catch her this year. Senior
Samantha Bond had 18 points with five assists and made a great look on a pass that set up the game-tying bucket in regulation. The third senior,
Angelika Ruggiano, had 19 points and five assists and made several key buckets down the stretch.
Hunter's Ashley Arias had a big game in a losing effort, scoring 23 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. The Hawks drop to 9-16, 5-11 CUNYAC.
York got off to a rough start, as Hunter scored the game's first 12 points. The Hawks maintained that advantage throughout the opening quarter and led 23-11 after ten minutes of action.
However, the Cardinals exploded in the second quarter, outscoring the Hawks 34-12. York opened with the first 10 points with Bond connecting on a three and Grant contributing four points. After a Hunter bucket, York rolled off 11 more straight points. Another three, this time from Ruggiano, and two buckets from
Sheahna Roscher were the main factors in the run. York continued its hot streak throughout the quarter and closed with a jumper from
Claudia Rhoden which extended the advantage to 11 at the break.
Hunter cut into the York advantage in the third thanks in large part to Ashley Arias, who scored 15 points in the quarter. Three straight York turnovers midway through the quarter helped the Hawks cut the deficit to two points (49-47). A Bond three-pointer helped put York up by five, but Arias closed the quarter with seven straight points, cutting the deficit to 62-60 heading into the fourth.
The Hawks scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, taking their first lead since early on in the second (67-62). A Christine Patterson jumper capped off the run. Hunter looked like it had the momentum after a holding a six-point advantage later in the quarter, but a Ruggiano three-pointer cut the deficit in half and then a Bond lay-up with 1:10 to go tied it up at 77-77.
With under 30 seconds left, Arias came through again for Hunter, driving through the lane uncontested for a lay-up to put her team up two. But on York's final possession of regulation,
Samantha Bond drove the lane and found McClendon underneath the basket, who hit the lay-up to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, neither team did much scoring in the opening minutes. The Cardinals held a one-point lead until a Ruggiano jumper made it 88-85 with 1:30 to go.
On Hunter's next possession, they failed to get the ball in within the allotted five seconds, turning the ball over to the Cardinals. Ruggiano was fouled on the next York possession and made one of two free throws to put her team up by four points. The Cardinals then came up with a big defensive stop and sealed the victory with a couple of Rhoden free throws.
The Cardinals are now 5-19, 3-13 CUNYAC. They will now set their sights on the first round of the CUNYAC playoffs which start on Friday. The pairings and locations will be announced on Wednesday.
