NYC Gazette

The City University of New York (CUNY) hosted the 19th annual "Battle of Lexington" basketball games between Baruch College and Hunter College. The event took place yesterday, featuring both women's and men's teams from these colleges along Manhattan's Lexington Avenue.

In the women's game, Baruch College senior Mia Castillo and Hunter College junior Alexa Charles faced off as the top scorers in NCAA Division III women's basketball. Castillo leads with an average of 27.8 points per game, while Charles follows closely with 26.9 points per game. Additionally, Lehman College's Heaven Figueroa ranks fourth nationally with 24.8 points per game.

The ceremonial tip-off was performed by CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, who attended alongside Baruch President S. David Wu and Hunter President Nancy Cantor. “It’s really wonderful to see our amazing student-athletes thriving in this way,” said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez.

The results saw Hunter College Hawks winning the women's game with a score of 70-58, while Baruch College Bearcats triumphed in the men's game with a score of 99-69.

Charles, an accounting major at Hunter, scored 24 points during the matchup and was recently named Division III women’s basketball player of the week by multiple associations for the fifth time this season. “It feels great to have won – this is something that we always look forward to," said Charles.

Castillo, studying accounting at Baruch and holding several leadership roles on campus, became her college's all-time leading scorer last month. Reflecting on their performance despite not securing a win, she stated: “We just wanted to play like a team... I’m really proud of how my girls played.”

Chancellor Matos Rodríguez congratulated both top scorers after the games concluded.