BROOKLYN --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com)  After producing the program's first postseason win since 2016, York College women's basketball ended their CUNYAC Championship run in the semifinals as the fifth-seeded Cardinals were eliminated Wednesday evening by the top-seeded Brooklyn College Bulldogs (20-6) with a 72-45 decision inside West Quad Gymnasium.  The Cardinals finish the season with a record of 11-15 to mark the program's highest win total since the 2009-10 season, when the Cardinals went 13-12.  

Advancing to its six-straight CUNYAC Championship game, Brooklyn will take the court in Friday's (Feb. 28) title game against No. 2 Hunter College starting at 5:30 p.m. inside York College Gymnasium.

Brooklyn took the early advantage by scoring six-straight points to open the game before Mac-Dege Dessources sank a free-throw to break the scoring ice for York 4:14 in.  Destiny Drummond then followed with a 3-pointer (4:54) to pull York within two (6-4) with 5:08 remaining.  Brooklyn pressured York to commit eight first-quarter turnovers that fueled a 10-0 spurt to close out the period with a 16-4 lead. 

York was held scoreless for a stretch of 8:24 prior to Kristina Sierra knocking down a pair of free-throws to slice the deficit to 13 (19-6) with 6:44 showing on the second-quarter clock.  The Bulldogs created separation on a trio of 3-pointers to build a 19-point lead (33-14) with 1:55 left.  Dessources settled the halftime scoring with two of her six first-half free-throws to trim Brooklyn's lead to 16 (33-17) at intermission.  York produced 12 of its 17 points from the free-throw line during the opening half as the Bulldogs converted 14 Cardinal turnovers into 17 points. 

Faced with a double-digit deficit, York went on a 9-2 scoring spree to open the second half capped by a Sierra triple to pull the Cardinals within nine points (35-26).  Following a Chanel Jemmott 3-pointer, Dessources answered with a three-point play to position York within nine (38-29).  Brooklyn orchestrated a 19-0 run to put the game out of reach with a 28-point lead (57-29) at the end of the third quarter.  The Bulldogs later extended their lead to a game-high 32-point lead (67-35) with 5:53 left.

Dessources notched her 16th double-double of the season, totaling 13 points (7-of-9 FT) to go along with a team-leading 14 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.  Drummond followed with a team-high 14 points (3-of-3 3FG) and added two steals in 22 minutes off the bench.  Ellma Hodzic contributed seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal while Keyla Cabrera nabbed two steals. 

Ericka James poured in a game-high 17 points (5-of-10 3FG) to lead Brooklyn to victory.  Jemmott registered 14 points and seven rebounds while Kailyn Richburg scored 12 points off the bench.

In the end, York shot a season-high 45.5 from 3-point range (5-of-11) and landed 27.9 percent from the field (12-of-43) and 55.2 percent from the free-throw line (16-of-29) while Brooklyn connected on 36.8 percent from the floor (25-of-68), 43.3 percent from beyond the arc (13-of-30) and 60 percent from the charity stripe (9-of-15).  The Cardinals outrebounded Brooklyn by four (44-40), and scored 16 second-chance points off 21 offensive boards.  York also outplayed the Bulldogs in points in the paint (14-12) as well as blocks (8-2) with a season-high eight rejections.  Brooklyn owned the edge in assists (19-9), steals (14-8), points off turnovers (32-6) and bench scoring (28-16).    
 
York graduates a senior class consisting Kathlyn Baldonado (2016-20), Diamond Jackson (2016-18, 19-20) and Dayana Jacome (2016-20) and will look to retool with seven returnees expected to be in the fold next season. 

For the latest news on the Cardinals, log on to www.yorkathletics.com – the official site of York College athletics. Also, become a follower of the Cardinals on Instagram (@yorkcardinals) and Twitter (@yorkcardinals), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (York Athletics).