JAMAICA, NY --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) Playing ahead by eight at intermission Wednesday evening, York College women's basketball were unable to keep pace with the Lehman College Lightning (6-8, 2-2 CUNYAC) in the final 20 minutes, falling 60-51 in a CUNYAC home affair.

How it Happened

• Lehman jumped ahead 6-0 early on. York answered with eight-consecutive points to take a two-point lead (8-6).
• Ellma Hodzic's layup with eight seconds showing gave the Cardinals a 15-11 lead to end the opening quarter. 
• A 7-0 second-period run pushed York's advantage to a team-best 11 (22-11).
• The Lightning outscored the Cardinals by three (7-4) in the final 7:45 to end the half. 
• Brianna Barnes' layup for Lehman with nine seconds left cut the deficit to eight (26-18).
• Barnes canned a free-throw to level the score at 32 with 5:45 remaining in the third. 
• The Lightning utilized a 16-9 burst to end the quarter, as Barbara Valentin's buzzer-beating triple gave Lehman a seven-point edge (48-41). 
• Aminata Sagna's free-throw cut York's deficit to two (48-46) at the 6:27 mark in the fourth frame, the closest the Cardinals came to tying it up.
• Barnes' layup with 2:23 remaining capped off a 5-0 run, giving the Lightning a seven-point advantage (53-46) for Lehman's only made bucket of the quarter. 
• Kristina Sierra's free-throw with 20 seconds left pulled York within three (54-51).
• The Lightning made six straight freebies to close out the win.

"We will get in the gym tomorrow, study our mistakes and try to learn from them."-said head coach Kimani Jackson

Inside the Box Score
Mac-Dege Dessources paced York with a team-best 21 points (10-of-17 FG) and 14 rebounds. Hodzic narrowly missed out on a triple-double, posting 11 points (4-of-9 FG, 2-of-4 3FG), 10 rebounds, and a team-high eight assists to go along with six steals.  Kristina Sierra rounded out York's double-digit scorers with 10 points and swept away three steals.  Sagna ripped down nine rebounds and controlled two steals as Alicia Gumsb recorded two steals.  

Barnes poured in a game-high 27 points (15-of-20 FT) and added 11 rebounds and three steals in leading the Lightning to victory.  Barbara Valentin dropped in 25 points (5-of-12 3FG) while Duquesnay Myandra posted 13 rebounds and four steals. Ramatoulaye Diallo nabbed seven steals.

The Cardinals launched 33 percent (19-of-57) from the field, 25 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point territory and 47.1 (8-of-17) from the free-throw line.  Lehman hit 28.3 percent (17-of-60) from the floor, 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from beyond the arc and 70 percent (21-of-30) from the stripe.  York won the boards battle by 13 (46-33), scoring 14 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds.  The Cardinals also owned the edge in blocks (5-0) and points in the paint (24-18).  Lehman converted 31 Cardinal miscues into 20 points and outplayed York in steals (16-13) as both teams drew even with 13 assists each.

Up Next 
The Cardinals (6-6, 2-2 CUNYAC) battle the City College of New York Beavers (3-11, 1-3 CUNYAC) at home Friday (Jan. 13) in a 5 p.m. CUNYAC encounter on Kids 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), Twitter (@yorkcardinals) and YouTube (@yorkathletics), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (York Athletics).