JAMAICA, NY --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College women's basketball were unable to hold off the visiting Brooklyn College Bulldogs (10-7, 7-0 CUNYAC) Friday evening, falling 69-64 in a CUNYAC showdown from York College Gymnasium.

How it Happened

• Brooklyn's Mary Dolgin canned a three to cap off a back-and-forth 18-17 first quarter advantage for the Bulldogs. 
• Behind 23-19, York went on a 13-0 run to take a nine-point lead (32-23) at the 4:57 mark in the second.
• Gianna Gotti's driving layup with 1:55 remaining in the half ended the scoring to pull Brooklyn within four (36-32).
• York opened the second half with a 10-0 burst to push the lead to 12 (46-34).
• The Bulldogs closed the third quarter on a 15-5 spurt to trim the deficit to two (51-49) as Gotti drained a triple with six seconds left. 
• Brooklyn took a 59-54 lead after Gotti's three-point-play at the 7:45 mark in the fourth, marking a 25-8 scoring spree.
• York leveled the score at 59 after Aminata Sagna made two free throws.
• Ellma Hodzic's 3-pointer with 1:50 showing on the clock put the Cardinals back up by three (64-61).
• Buoyed by four clutch points by Ericka James, Brooklyn closed out the contest with eight-unanswered points to settle the 69-64 final.

"My girls played with so much toughness and grit. I hope they use this as momentum and a confidence booster."-said head coach Kimani Jackson 

Inside the Box Score
Alicia Gumbs paced York with 16 points (7-of-12 FG), five assists, and a team-best four steals. Hodzic scored 14 points, and totaled team-bests in rebounds (9) and assists (6). Kristina Sierra added 13 points (3-of-10 3FG) and four boards. Mac-Dege Dessources chipped in with 11 points (5-of-12 FG), six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Sagna tallied eight boards, three assists, and two steals. 

James and Gotti paved the way for Brooklyn. James led all scorers with 20 points (8-of-18 FG, 2-of-4 3FG). She also hauled in a game-high 10 boards, and tallied four steals, three assists, and two blocks. Gotti netted 18 points, had two steals, and dished out five dimes. Sarah James recorded eight points and 10 rebounds. 

The Cardinals shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from downtown, and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe.   On the other end, Brooklyn hit on 35 percent (28-of-80) from the field, 25 percent (6-of-24) from 3-point territory and 58.3 (7-of-12) from the free-throw line.  

Brooklyn won the boards battle, 37-36, scoring 21 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.  The Bulldogs also outplayed York in steals (16-10), points in the paint (38-24), bench scoring (23-4), and converted 22 Cardinal turnovers into 23 points.  York finished with the edge in assists (17-16) and blocks (5-3).

Up Next 
The Cardinals (8-7, 4-3 CUNYAC) oppose the John Jay College Bloodhounds (10-7, 4-2 CUNYAC) on Tuesday (Jan. 24) at 5 p.m. 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).