JAMAICA, NY --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College women's basketball kept it close in the first half before a decisive third quarter pushed the College of Staten Island Dolphins (13-8) to a 52-39 victory Tuesday evening inside CSI Sports & Recreation Center.  

The Cardinals jumped ahead early with a jumper by Keyla Cabrera 18 seconds in to break the scoring ice.  Both teams combined for nine first-quarter lead changes as Mac-Dege Dessources scored two of her 11 first-half points for York's final advantage with 2:30 remaining to make it a 10-9 contest.  Playing with the lead for the final 32:11, Staten Island used a 6-1 spurt to go up by six (19-13) with 6:09 left in the opening half. York scored six-straight points to knot the game at 19 before the Dolphins scored three of the next five tallies over the final 2:16 to lead 22-21 at the break.  

Both teams played even in the opening minutes of the second half prior to Diana Todaro responding to Diamond Jackson's jumper with a layup to ignite a 15-3 Dolphin run for a 41-29 lead at the end of three quarters of play.  York trimmed its deficit to 10 in the fourth period while a 7-0 spurt pushed Staten Island out to a game-high 17-point lead (52-35) with 1:49 remaining.   

Dessources registered 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal to pace York.  Cabrera contributed nine points, six rebounds and four steals as Jackson added eight points and Ellma Hodzic followed with seven. 

Jada Rogers led all scorers with 14 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals for Staten Island.  Todaro chipped in with eight points, 14 rebounds and three steals as Diedre Foster scored 12 points off the Dolphin bench.   

York shot 26.9 percent from the field (14-of-52), 16.7 percent from 3-point territory (1-of-6) and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line (10-of-14) as Staten Island connected on 31 percent from the floor (18-of-58), 6.3 percent from beyond the arc (1-of-16) and 75 percent from the charity stripe (15-of-20).  Staten Island won the boards battle, 46-36, and scored 18 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds. York outplayed the Dolphins in blocks (3-2) while Staten Island held the edge in assists (12-8), steals (14-11), points off turnovers (19-16) and bench scoring (12-9).

The Cardinals (7-13, 4-6 CUNYAC) return home Friday (Feb. 7) to close out their season series with the John Jay College Bulldogs (11-10, 8-2 CUNYAC) starting at 5:30 p.m. on Military Appreciation Night inside York College Gymnasium.

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).