Bloodhounds Fend Off Lady Eagles' Comeback

New York, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College Lady Eagles (9-6) couldn't make it out of the Doghouse and were defeated by the Bloodhounds of John Jay (8-7). The loss drops the women's record in the new year to 1-3.

The women got off to a slow start early on, going down 13 with 12:49 on the clock from a three-pointer by John Jay's Simone Victor. The Bloodhounds kept the lead in double digits until a free throw by Danielle Hamlin (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) cut the lead to nine. Colleen Fitzsimons (Commack, N.Y./Commack) hit a layup as time expired, in the first half, to cut the deficit to only seven points heading into the locker room.

The second half featured a back-and-forth battle of made field goals. John Jay kept the lead hovering around five to ten points for the first twelve minutes of the second half. Two free throws by Amanda Bender (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) sparked an 8-0 run over a two-minute span; two free throws by Ashley Larrea (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) cut the lead to one with 4:06 left in the game. However, the Bloodhounds shut down the Eagles offense over the next four minutes and hit their free throws to cruise to the 82-75 victory.

Amanda Bender led all scorers with 25 points while hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Larrea finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while also going a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe.

Next up for the women is a big Skyline Conference matchup against rival Farmingdale St. (4-7, Skyline 2-2) on Wednesday at 5:00 pm. Last season the Rams swept the Lady Eagles with scores of 59-55 and 57-44.