MANHATTAN --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College women's basketball limited the opposition to shoot below 30 percent from the field for the seventh time in nine games Saturday afternoon, but were unable to close out the final seconds to let a heartbreaking 59-56 CUNYAC road decision slip away as the Baruch College Bearcats (10-2, 4-1 CUNYAC) prevailed from ARC Arena in Manhattan.

Trailing 9-2, York erased its early deficit with a 14-4 run.  The Cardinals caught fire by shooting 6-of-7 from the field during a stretch of 6:42 as Ellma Hodzic erupted for seven points capped by a 3-pointer with 1:51 left in the opening stanza to grab a 16-11 lead.  Hodzic opened the second-quarter scoring with her second triple of the half 1:28 in to put York in front, 19-17. The Cardinals played with the lead for the remaining 8:32 to take a 28-24 advantage into halftime.

York started the third period with back-to-back jumpers from Kristina Sierra and Cami Melson to extend its lead to a game-high eight points (32-24) at the 8:15 mark.  After Diamond Jackson's free-throw put York up by seven (35-28) 1:57 later, Nia Dawson sank a free-throw with 6:05 left for one of her seven points during a 14-6 Baruch scoring spree that sent the Bearcats into the final stanza with a 42-41 advantage.  Keyla Cabrera got the Cardinals going in the fourth quarter with a pair of jumpers during a 7-3 spurt 1:53 in for a 48-45 lead. Both teams combined for six lead changes in the decisive period that saw Baruch outscore York, 17-15. The Cardinals went up by one (56-55) with 18 seconds left as Mac-Dege Dessources dropped in a layup for York's final lead before Frances Snyder charged the paint to sink the game-winning jumper with six seconds showing on the clock.  York was denied entry on its inbound pass as Baruch then proceeded to extend its lead to three on a pair of Dawson free-throws to settle the 59-56 final.  

Dessources was one of four Cardinals to score in double-digits, and registered her eighth double-double of the season (21st career) with an effort of 14 points (7-of-11 FG), 12 rebounds, two blocks and one steal.  Cabrera netted 11 points (5-of-8 FG) off the bench as Hodzic and Sierra each scored 10. Drummond, Jackson and Melson contributed defensively by nabbing two steals apiece.

Dawson poured in game-high 24 points (4-of-10 FG, 8-of-10 FT) to go with eight rebounds in leading Baruch to victory.  Sameera Ahmed followed with 12 points and Melinda Spahiu added 10. 

In the end, York shot 36.9 percent from the field (24-of-65), 25 percent from 3-point range (4-of-16) and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line (4-of-6) as Baruch hit 29 percent from the floor (20-of-69), 28.6 percent from long distance (6-of-21) and 86.7 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-15).  Baruch edged York in rebounds, 47-45, scoring 14 second-chance points off 14 offensive boards. The Cardinals committed 16 turnovers for their lowest total since January 19, 2018, when York had 16 versus Baruch. York also outplayed Baruch in assists (13-12), steals (9-4), blocks (3-1) and bench scoring (18-5) while the Bearcats held the advantage in points off turnovers (13-5).

The Cardinals (5-9, 2-3 CUNYAC) remain on the road Wednesday (Jan. 15) for a CUNYAC matchup inside The Doghouse against the John Jay College Bloodhounds (6-7, 3-1 CUNYAC) at 6 p.m. in Manhattan. 

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