**Courtesy of CUNY**

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Feb. 15, 2019) - On Friday, top-seeded Hostos Community College made it a three-peat, defeating No. 3 seed Borough of Manhattan Community College, 99-39, in the 2019 CUNYAC Community College Women's Basketball Championship at BMCC Gymnasium in New York City.

"They worked so hard. The fact that we are offensively talented, but needed to work so much harder on defense. They responded so well to the challenge. This championship means so much, because of what they did today. It just makes me so proud of them," commented Hostos Head Coach DeVernie Winston.

Hostos shot a stellar 50.0 percent (47-for-94) from the field and had six players score in double figures, led by Apilyn Bonny and Kayla Wilson's 16 points apiece. Sophomore guard and Most Valuable Player Skydajah Patterson followed up her tournament-record performance with a 15-point effort. She had eight assists and five rebounds in the victory, as well.

"It's hard to take her (Skydajah) off the court. Even though she is one of our best players, we can put her on the bench after a while, but she contributes to the game in so many ways besides on the offensive side of the ball. With her being such a great teammate, you almost want to reward it by continuing to have her on the court," Winston said about his tournament MVP.

"I am just happy to be here once again. My team and I worked really hard for it. We are just ready to go to nationals and get another championship," quoted Patterson.

Sophomore guard Ellease Billings filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. Sophomore guard Regine Blakney added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while sophomore forward Desiree Tolbert chipped in 10 points.

The Caimans could not have gotten out to a better start, outscoring the Panthers, 32-0, in the first quarter of play.

Hostos dominated in the paint, scoring 26 of its first 32 points from inside, and excelled in transition with 10 first-quarter points on the fast break. The Caimans, who shot an overwhelming 55.8 percent (29-of-52) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, took a commanding 59-15 lead  into the intermission.

Hostos forced 40 turnovers in the game, while committing just 13 giveaways. The Caimans also dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle, 52-33, including a 29-11 advantage in offensive rebounds.

For BMCC, freshman guard Autum Adams-Edwards scored a team-high 16 points. She made 4-of-8 tries from downtown in the contest. Freshman forward Lauren Malcolm had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Blossom Berruecos pitched in six points. Sophomore guard Ayanna Graham had four points and seven rebounds.

2019 CUNYAC All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player: Skydajah Patterson, Hostos
Regine Blakney, Hostos
Apilyn Bonny, Hostos
Autum Adams-Edwards, BMCC
Lauren Malcolm, BMCC
Endrina Berisha, Kingsborough
Leeza Theodore, Queensborough