Championship atmosphere. Crowd roaring. Pressure rising. The conclusion of this year’s CUNYAC women’s basketball season. However, how did the Hunter players and coaches prepare for the game?
More than 1,000 people poured into the Sportplex to witness the number one seed Hunter College take on the number three seed Brooklyn College. These two teams had faced each other twice in the regular season, with Hunter winning the first matchup 72-59 and Brooklyn winning the second matchup 68-47.
“Preparing for a game like this is hard,” said John Garrett, the head coach for the Hunter College women’s basketball team. Garrett continued, “The atmosphere is unique, and unfortunately, we do not play in front of crowds like this all the time.” The regular season games do not have close to the same crowd as the playoff games do. The championship was a sold-out crowd, with almost 900 more people from the women’s last regular season game.
Eliah Yode, a senior guard from the Bronx, says, “I am definitely very nervous for this game. It’s everyone on the team’s first championship game.” John Garrett and the Hunter women’s team won the CUNYAC championship in 2018-2019, so he has the only championship experience. The rest of the team has only experienced the semifinals.
John Garrett emphasized confidence and communication. Garrett said this is a team “that’s bonded and comes together really well.” This year, they were “hungry for success” and the individual player development, as well as some new additions to the team, has led to the team’s success.
The players were trying not to let the nerves get to them. The junior guard, Alexa Charles, from Tarrytown, New York, said, “I am treating it like it is just a regular game and being optimistic that we can pull through at any point in the game.” She also is coming into the game with a positive mindset and “not letting mistakes cloud our judgment.” Charles said, “I was more nervous for the days leading up to the game, but now that the game is here, we are going to cook.”
However, Hunter fell short in a 59-54 loss despite a dominant performance from Charles, who recorded a double-double with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Katie Burke provided a key offensive spark, hitting four three-pointers to finish with 12 points, while Gianna Henriques was efficient inside, scoring 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting. Makkedah Murray’s 7-for-7 performance from the free-throw line kept Hunter in the game, but turnovers and struggles from beyond hurt Hunter at the end of the day.
The Hunter College women’s team finished the year 20-6 and 13-1 in conference. Falling short in the CUNYAC tournament prevented them from making it to the NCAA tournament, but the women’s team will compete in the ECAC tournament in a 16-team bracket. Head coach John Garrett emphasized “I don’t want to be done coaching this group of seniors, they have done so much for the program and “I am excited we get to keep playing post season basketball.”
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