STORY COURTESY OF CUNYAC SPORTS INFORMATION
Baruch came into tonight's CUNYAC/Army ROTC Championship game as the heavy favorite after going undefeated in CUNYAC play. They proved everybody correct.
The Bearcats dominated in the second half and came from behind to defeat the Bulldogs by a score of 60-39 to win the 35th annual CUNY Women's Championship. The victory gives the school their eighth straight Championship Title and ninth in the last ten years.
"It feels amazing," said KellyAnn Barrett, interim head coach of the Bearcats. "It means a lot for Baruch administration to put their trust in me with this program and this team. I knew of the winning tradition and I wanted to keep it, and that's what we did."
Both teams began the game playing stout defense. Through the game's first seven and a half minutes, the teams traded two point leads and combined to register more blocks (five) than field goals made (four). With 6:38 remaining in the half, the score stood at 10-8 in favor of Brooklyn. Both offenses were sputtering at that point, combining to go 0-for-13 from beyond the arc and 8-for-36 from the field in that time frame.
That's when Nicole Francomano hit the game's first three-pointer to put the Bulldogs up by five. That began a stretch where the senior from Staten Island scored six straight points of her team, single-handedly outscoring the #1 seeded Bearcats 6-2.
Baruch closed the gap to two points late in the half with two baskets in a twenty second span, but Brooklyn's Nacirema Mann was able to bury a layup to send the Bulldogs into the locker room leading 20-16 at the half.
Brooklyn only trailed for a mere 31 seconds in the first half. Francomano led all scorers with eight points, and Megan Campbell added six points to Brooklyn's effort. Baruch was led by Iyana Abrams' six points.
"I told them to relax," said Barrett about her halftime speech. "We got a little tight and a little tense."
The Bearcats heeded their coach's wishes, coming out in the second half determined to show everybody that their first half was an aberration. Abrams got Baruch started quickly right out of the break, scoring on a layup twenty seconds in. Brooklyn's Vanessa D'Ambrosi, who scored 20 points in the team's semifinal win over Staten Island, answered a minute later with a three pointer from the right to re-extend their lead. At 17:01, D'Ambrosi hit another three.
Baruch would answer right back with three straight field goals by Sheridan Taylor, Alicea Ulmer and Kristen Podlovits, who combined for only two points in the opening half. With 11:24 remaining in the game, Ulmer hit Baruch's first three of the game, snapping an 0-for-12 streak and giving the Bearcats the lead for the first time since early in the first half. Last year's Tournament MVP Francess Henry followed that up by stretching out to receive a court-long pass and laying it in to give Baruch a 31-28 lead, their largest of the night at that point. That 5-0 run gave the Bearcats some momentum and energized their fanbase. Podlovits fed off that energy and, on the next possession, drained a three to extend Baruch's lead to six. From that point on, Baruch finally found the rhythm that made them the #1 seed in the first place.
The Bearcats went on a 19-4 run from the 14:15 mark to break the game open. Abrams put up eight points during that stretch. They continued to pour it on late in the game, with Podlovits hitting a three and Ulmer converting on a short-range jumper to open up an insurmountable 20 point lead.
The Bearcats played out the remainder of the game without any doubt that they'd be going home with this year's Championship trophy. They outscored the Bulldogs 44-19 in the second half. As time ran out, the Bearcats could officially call themselves 8-time CUNYAC Champions.
Iyana Abrams finished the game with 20 points, including 14 in the second half. After scoring 20 points against CCNY in the quarterfinals and 15 against Staten Island in the semifinals, Abrams earned Tournament MVP honors.
"I'm super excited," said Abrams. "It's an amazing feeling right now. I worked hard and played the best defense I could."
"Iyana is a tough kid," said Barrett. "She had a bit of adversity this week but that doesn't matter. She stays poised and she creates for us, and that's what she did tonight."
Additionally for Baruch, Alicea Ulmer posted a double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 points. Francomano led the Bulldogs with 12 points on the night.
Baruch moves to 9-3 all-time in the CUNYAC Finals. Brooklyn was denied their first Championship victory since their inaugural tournament win in 1980. The win gives the Bearcats an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.