New York, NY --- The #1 seeded Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team edged out the #4 seeded Lightning of Lehman College in the semifinals of the 2012 City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC)/Con Edison Women's Basketball Championships tonight by a score of, 64-58, held at the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY).

The win improves BC to 21-6 overall on the season and places the Bulldogs into Saturday's CUNYAC Championship game against the winner between #2 Baruch College and #3 Hunter College. Tip-off will be at 3:00 pm at Nat Holman Gym.

Lehman finishes the season with a 15-12 record.

The first half featured a tight defensive affair that saw six ties and six lead changes, as both teams struggled shooting the ball. Lehman shot 27.0% (10-37) from the field, including going just 1-for-8 (12.5%) from three, while converting on just 6-of-14 (42.9%) from the free throw line. Brooklyn by comparison shot 33.3% (12-36) from the field, while also converting on just 1-for-8 (12.5%) from beyond the arc and 44.4% (4-9) from the charity stripe.

The Lightning would seize early control of the game jumping out to a 7-1 advantage, their largest of the game, at the 17:21 mark of the opening half. However, BC would answer quickly with a 9-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to go up 10-7.

From there on out the teams would battle back-and-forth as neither team was able to pull ahead. The Bulldogs would take the slim 29-27 lead heading into the halftime break, as junior Charnelle Saint Laurent led the way for Brooklyn with nine points, while classmate Tiffany Thompson added eight points and nine rebounds. Lehman was paced by Amanda De La Cruz's 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

BC outscored Lehman 16-4 in the paint in the half, while rebounding kept the Lightning in the game as the Lightning held a 10-4 advantage in second chance points. Lehman outrebounded BC 32-26 in the half.
The second half was just as tight, as the teams combined for seven ties and four lead changes. With the game knotted at 31-31 at the 18:03 mark, BC used a 9-3 run to take its largest lead of the game, 40-34, with 14:41 remaining in the game. Lehman would not go down lightly, however, as the Lightning would strike back with a 10-2 run to regain the lead once again at 44-42 with 10:27 left.

The teams would continue their seesaw battle down the stretch as the final outcome would come down the wire. Following a layup from De La Cruz broke a 52-52 tie to give Lehman a 54-52 lead at the 5:20 mark, the Bulldogs made one last attempt to punch its ticket to Saturday's final using an 8-2 run to take a 60-56 advantage with just 1:20 remaining before the final buzzer. Saint Laurent's three-point play via a layup and free throw capped the run to give the Bulldogs the momentum to edge out the Lighting.

A key layup from freshman Nicole Francomano and free throws from senior Lauren Plagainos in the final seconds helped ice the game for the Bulldogs, as BC took home the 64-58 final.

For the game, BC shot 33.3% (23-69) from the field, including being held to just 1-for-12 (8.3%) shooting from three.  The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 63.0% (17-27) from the line.

Lehman shot 32.8% (22-67) from the field and 14.3% (2-14) from beyond the arc. The Lighting also struggled from the stripe going 12-for-22 (54.5%).

Brooklyn's senior Justine O'Callahan finished the game with a team-high 16 points (10 in the second half), to go along with eight rebounds. "Coming into the game we knew what we needed to do," said O'Callahan. "We wanted to prove ourselves from last year and we were able to do that tonight. Everyone stepped up and played great. I'm really proud of this team."

Thompson recorded a double-double for BC with 14 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, while Plagainos grabbed 10 rebounds and added eight points. Francomano dished out six assists, to go along with her eight points and seven rebounds.

Brooklyn also held the slim rebounding edge 51-50. Points in the paint were key to the BC win, as the Bulldogs held a 32-18 scoring advantage in the paint.

De La Cruz nearly recorded a triple-double with a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and a game-best nine assists for Lehman, while Shalaya Nieves and Leslie Mencia finished the night with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Alica McDaniel grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds.

"I thought that Lehman played a great game, especially De La Cruz," said Head Coach Alex Lang. "Our girls played a great game as well and fought back. I think this win is a testament to the heart we played with all season and how much we want it."