Jessica Duleba scored 19 points and Sheridan Taylor came off the bench to score 16 points to lead the Baruch College Bearcats to a 79-73 victory over Wittenberg University on Friday afternoon in a first round game of the Chuck Resler Tournament hosted by Rochester University in Rochester, New York.

The game was a tale of two different halves for the Bearcats. In the first half, they struggled shooting at only 29.7 percent (11-37) compared to 50 percent (10-20) by their opponents from the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). However, the Bearcats attempted more shots with 37 compared to only 20 by the Tigers to help build a three-point halftime advantage (35-32).

In the second half, the Bearcats came alive offensively to shoot 48 percent (14-30) and went on to lead by as much as 13 points (63-50) with 8:22 remaining.

Wittenberg rallied late to get as close as four points (77-73) with 28 second left, but Duleba knocked in two free throws with 16 seconds to close out the 79-73 victory.

With the result, the Bearcats advance to the championship game on Saturday evening, November 19, at 6:00 pm, to take on #8-ranked Rochester of the University Athletic Association (UAA).

The Baruch bench was a factor again this afternoon by outscoring Wittenberg, 41-24, with Sheridan (16pts, 6rbs), Kiara Johnson(13pts, 3stls) and Toni Fenn(6pts, 6rbs, 2 stls) leading the way.

Duleba scored 10 of her 16 total points in the second half, while Folashade Akindehad another all-around game with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes of action.

Sarah Watson led Wittenberg of Ohio with a game-high double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds.

The Baruch defense forced Wittenberg into 36 turnovers.