New York, NY --- The #3 seeded Brooklyn College Bulldogs fell to the #2 seeded Baruch College Bearcats, 65-49, in the semifinals round of the 2013-2014 City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Women's Basketball Championships at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of City College of New York on Wednesday night.

With the loss, Brooklyn drops to 20-7 overall on the season, while Baruch improves to 20-7 overall on the year and advances to the championship final on Friday, February 28th at 6:00 pm at Nat Holman Gym. The Bearcats will take on #4 seed Hunter College, who upset #1 seed College of Staten Island, 74-65, in the other semifinals game.

The first half saw a low scoring affair with five ties and four lead changes, as neither team led by more than four points.

The Bulldogs' offense struggled in the opening period as Brooklyn shot just 21.2% (7-for-33) from the field, including 18.2% (2-for-11) from three. The Bulldogs also went just 3-for-6 (50.0%) from the charity stripe. Junior Nicole Francomano led all scorers with six first half points, while classmate Carissa Williams added four points.

The Bearcats' offense didn't fair much better, as Baruch shot 30.8% (8-for-26) from the field and 12.5% (1-for-8) from beyond the arc. The Bearcats made the most of their free throw opportunities going a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Baruch was led by Iyana Abrams, Kiara Johnson and Sheridan Taylor, as the trio scored four points each to help the Bearcats take a 21-19 halftime advantage.

Brooklyn scored 10 points off of 15 Baruch turnovers in the first half.

The second half saw the Bearcats jump out on a quick 5-0 run to take a 26-19 lead with 18:18 left in the game. Johnson sparked the run scoring the first three points on a layup and ensuing free throw after being fouled. The Bulldogs would answer with a 5-0 run of their own on a bucket from senior Megan Campbell and a three from classmate Allison Donovan to get back to within two, 26-24, with 17:44 on the clock.

That's as close as Brooklyn would get the rest of the way, as Baruch kept the Bulldogs at arm's length throughout the remaining of the ballgame. Following a three from junior Sarah Shanderson that made it 34-31 in favor of Baruch with 13:34 remaining in the game, the Bearcats would rattle off 10 straight points to go up 13, 44-31, with 10:56 left. Three-pointers from Kristen Podlovits and Veronica Ganzi fueled the run.

Baruch's lead would be unthreatened the rest of the way, as the Bearcats would cruise to its 16-point win, 65-49, and advance to their ninth straight CUNYAC Final appearance. Baruch has won six straight and seven of the last eight championships.

Baruch held the hot shooting hand in the second half, as the Bearcats shot 51.5% (17-for-33) in the final period.

Francomano finished the game with a team-high nine points, to go with six assists; while junior Asia Foster grabbed 10 rebounds, to go with eight points. Junior Nacirema Mann also added eight points, to go with six rebounds.

Baruch's Abrams and Taylor each finished the game with 13 points. Taylor also pulled in 10 rebounds to record a double-double. Johnson finished with 10 points.

Brooklyn will now await a possible bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Championships. The eight-team tournament field will be announced on Monday, March 3rd. The tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 5th with the quarterfinals round.