MANHATTAN --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College women's basketball went toe-to-toe Wednesday evening with the John Jay College Bloodhounds (7-8, 4-1 CUNYAC) through three quarters before being outscored by 15 points in the final stanza to fall 69-53 in CUNYAC action from The Doghouse in Manhattan. 

The Cardinals and Bloodhounds traded baskets throughout most of the game as the first half saw nine lead changes.  The opening 10 minutes featured both teams leading by no more than two, with John Jay holding a tight 13-12 advantage.  York was unable to capitalize on a +14 rebounding margin in the first quarter, controlling the offensive glass with an 11-0 advantage, leading to just three second-chance points.  John Jay went up by as many as four in the second period with a 6-2 spurt that made it a 23-19 game with 3:31 left. The Cardinals responded with buckets from Cami Melson, Ellma Hodzic and Kristina Sierra to take a 25-23 lead before Katie Healy sank a jumper with 49 seconds remaining to send a 25-all contest into intermission. 

Following a 5-0 Bloodhound run to stretch the lead to six (39-33) with 50 seconds left in the third, York rallied to pull within one (39-38) in the final 36 seconds for a 5-0 spurt capped by Sierra's trey.  Melson opened the fourth-quarter scoring 21 seconds in to put York up 40-39. Moments later, back-to-back layups from Keyla Cabrera and Dayana Jacome made it a 44-43 game for York's final lead of the game with 7:26 showing on the clock.  The Cardinals kept it close until John Jay created separation with a 17-7 run over the final 3:19 to extend its lead to a game-high 16 points to settle the 69-53 decision. Despite John Jay holding a 30-15 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter, York fired away at a rate of 46.2 percent from the field for its best shooting period of the game.  

Jacome finished with a season-high 10 points (4-of-5 FG, 2-of-2 FT) to pace York.  Sierra totaled nine points and a personal-best four steals. Melson and Cabrera each pulled down nine boards while Mac-Dege Dessources followed with eight and a game-high three blocks.  Hodzic scored eight points and notched two blocks.  

Healy poured in 22 points to lead all scorers and added seven rebounds and six steals to her statline for John Jay.  Nyasha Howard dished out a game-high six assists and scored 14 points. Lily Rakitzis tallied 14 points and All'aha Albright followed with 11.  

In the end, York shot 34.8 percent from the field (23-of-66),18.2 percent from 3-point territory (2-of-11) and 41.7 percent from the free-throw line (5-of-12) as John Jay connected on 39.3 percent from the floor (24-of-61), 14.3 percent from beyond the arc (2-of-14) and 86.4 percent from the charity stripe (19-of-22).  The Cardinals won the boards battle, 48-36, scoring seven second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds. York outplayed John Jay in blocks (5-3) and bench scoring (14-3) as the Bloodhounds held the edge in assists (12-10) and steals (15-7) while converting 29 Cardinal miscues into 33 points.

The Cardinals (5-10, 2-4 CUNYAC) open a three-game homestand Friday (Jan. 17) starting with a CUNYAC matchup against the Medgar Evers College Cougars (2-10, 0-5 CUNYAC) at 5:30 p.m. inside York College Gymnasium. 

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