The Baruch College Bearcats defeated the Dolphins from the College of Staten Island, 80-53, in a CUNYAC home contest played on Friday night in the ARC Arena.

The contest began competitively in the opening six minutes with four ties and three lead changes, but the Bearcats (20-1, 13-0 CUNYAC) finished the first half shooting 53.6 percent to take a 43-27 halftime advantage.

The Bearcats never let up on the pressure in the second half by jumping out to a 55-34 advantage with 15:05 left.  

The visiting Dolphins (11-10, 8-4 CUNYAC) would later get as close as 55-44 with 10:00 minutes remaining, but the Bearcats quickly responded with a dramatic 18-1 run over the next six minutes to put the game out of reach.

Jessica Duleba, who became Baruch's newest 1,000 point scorer earlier this week, led the way with 21 points (10-15 fg), four assists and three steals. Sheridan Taylornarrowly missed a double-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Francess Henry had another all-around effort with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal. Alicea Ulmeralso narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

For the second straight game, the Bearcats finished shooting 50 percent (32-64) and notched 15 steals.

Megan Myhre led the Dolphins with 15 points and five rebounds.

Baruch will return to action on Monday, February 4, with a tough 5:00 pm CUNYAC contest at second place Brooklyn College.