MANHATTAN --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College women's basketball took the court Saturday in the first-round of the 2020 CUNYAC Championship as the No. 5 seed, and prevailed on the road with a 57-52 win over the No. 4 seeded Baruch College Bearcats (14-11) inside ARC Arena.  The Cardinals (11-14) advance to Wednesday's semifinal-round with their first postseason win since 2016, and will travel to the top-seeded Brooklyn College Bulldogs (19-6) at 6 p.m. inside West Quad Center Gymnasium. York's 11 wins mark the program's highest total since the 2009-10 season, when the Cardinals went 13-12.  

Dayana Jacome attacked the net to break the scoring ice 11 seconds in to add to York scoring 12 of its 17 points during the first quarter in the paint.  York had all five starters score in the opening 4:12 as Kristina Sierra landed a 3-pointer at the 5:48 mark to make it an 11-3 game. Following a Mac-Dege Dessources layup 1:37 later, Baruch responded with a Nia Dawson triple to ignite a 12-4 run that tied the game at 17 after one quarter of play.  Dessources scored two of her eight first-half points with 28 seconds remaining and York outscored Baruch by five (16-11) during a second period that saw the Cardinals go up by five to send a 33-28 game into intermission.

The Cardinals built a game-high 11 point-lead (39-28) just 2:07 into third-quarter action as Dessources converted a three-point play to quickly extend York's advantage.  Baruch replied with a 13-4 spurt over the final 7:35 to pull within two (43-41) heading into the fourth period. York played ahead for a stretch of 20:50 before Baruch jumped in front to snag a 44-43 advantage with 7:27 remaining.  Frances Snyder then drilled a 3-pointer 41 seconds later to push Baruch's lead to four (47-43) prior to Dessources scoring six points as part of York's 8-2 run to take back a 51-49 margin with 3:36 left. Baruch took a brief 52-51 lead prior to Sierra landing a 3-pointer for the game-winning shot to make it a 54-52 contest with 1:53 showing on the fourth-quarter clock.  York sank 3-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 1:02 to secure the 57-52 triumph.  

Dessources, today's CUNYAC Player of the Game, posted her league-leading 15th double-double of the season to carry York to victory with 23 points (10-of-15 FG), 16 rebounds, three assists (career-high) and one block.  Ellma Hodzic netted 10 points while Sierra and Cami Melson scored eight and seven, respectively. Jacome ripped down a season-high eight rebounds.  

Leading the way for Baruch was Snyder, who scored 14 points.  Daniela Zirpolo tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and two steals as Dawson produced 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.  

In the end, York shot 42.9 percent from the field (24-of-56), 21.4 from 3-point range (3-of-14) and 35.3 percent from the free-throw line (6-of-17) as Baruch hit 33.3 percent from the floor (22-of-66), 29.4 percent from long distance (5-of-17) and 50 percent from the charity stripe (3-of-6).  The Cardinals won the boards battle, 50-33, and scored 11 second-chance points off 12 offensive boards. York also outplayed the Bearcats in assists (14-12) and points in the paint (28-14) while Baruch owned the edge in steals (9-3), blocks (4-1) and points off turnovers (13-9).

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