The Baruch College Bearcats lost 57-52 to the Cardinals of York College in a CUNYAC quarterfinal round contest on Saturday afternoon in the ARC Arena.
The Bearcats will now wait to see if they will receive a berth to play in the ECAC Division III Postseason Championship that begins with the first-round action at higher seeds on Wednesday, March 4. The 15-team bracket will be announced by the ECAC on Monday afternoon, March 2.
The Cardinals of York College advance to the CUNYAC semifinal round on Wednesday, February 26, to play at top-seeded Brooklyn College with tip scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The two teams battled all afternoon in what was expected to be a tough contest between the 4th versus 5th seeds.
The Cardinals broke a tie at 27 in the second quarter by scoring six of the final seven points to own a 33-28 halftime lead. They started the second half with the same momentum by scoring the first six points to jump ahead to the biggest lead of the game, 39-28, which forced a Bearcat timeout.
The Bearcats quickly regrouped and managed to cut the deficit to just two points (43-41) following a layup by Melinda Spahiu that finished the third-quarter scoring.
That set up a tense fourth quarter and neither team scored in the first two minutes. Nia Dawson then hit a free throw and Frances Snyder connected on a jumper for a 44-43 advantage with 7:27 left. Frances then hit a three on the team's next trip to make it 47-43 and that forced a York timeout.
The Cardinals then relied on Mac-Dege Dessources as she scored their next eight points to later tie the game at 49 with 4:36 remaining.
The two teams exchanged leads over the next several minutes as the two-minute mark approached.
Milly Ye then hit a long three to jump ahead 52-51, but the Cardinals quickly responded with a three by Kristina Sierra to take it back at 54-52.
The Cardinals ended the quarterfinal by getting a pair of free throws from Dessources and one by Ellma Hodzic to record the final score 57-52.
Dessources was named the Quarterfinal MVP with a double-double of 23 points and 16 rebounds.
Snyder led the host Bearcats in the tough loss with 14 points.