Staten Island 92, Baruch 72    ●BOX_SCORE
New York, NY

In the first 2:09 of the game, the Dolphins (22-5) received eight points from senior April Nelson (Staten Island, NY) on their way to a 12-2 lead. All five starters for the CUNYAC Coach of the Year, Marguerite Gualtieri, scored in double figures, led by Nelson with 18 points. Senior forward Keisha Cook (Staten Island, NY) had 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, sophomore forward Debra Pasquale (Staten Island, NY) added 15 points and 13 rebounds, while senior forward Deanna Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY) added 13 points. CSI has now advanced to the championship game for the sixth time in seven years.

"As seniors often do, April had a great game on both ends of the floor,” said CSI head coach Marguerite Gualtieri, after notching her 98th win in only five seasons at the helm. "It was a bit of a wakeup call after the Medgar Evers game. Baruch's a scrappy team, they forced us to raise the intensity, and we responded. That's what the playoffs are all about.”

 "It's a great feeling to be back in the final after last year,” said Nelson, CSI's all-time leader in three-pointers, who was on their championship teams in 2000 and 2001. "It won't be complete unless we win it though.”

The Bearcats, who advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1998, got a great performance from freshman forward Jessenia Marrero (Flushing, NY) with 22 points and seven rebounds, while senior all-stars Stephanie Trahan (Inwood, NY) and Jamees Wright (New York, NY) were held in check by the Dolphins' stingy defense. Trahan finished with a game-high 24 points, but was 8-30 from the floor. Wright had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Staten Island will face the winner of the second game tonight, #2 Hunter (17-9) vs. #3 York (9-13) in the final on Friday, February 28 at Baruch College's ARC Arena at 5:30 pm. The winner will earn CUNYAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships

Hunter 58, York 41    ●BOX_SCORE
New York, NY - For the fifth time in six seasons, Hunter College will face the College of Staten Island in the final of the CUNYAC / Con Edison Basketball Championship Tournament. The two perennial finalists both emerged victorious in Tuesday's semifinals at Baruch College in the 38th annual edition of the championship event.

Playing in the second semifinal, defending champion and second seed Hunter collected a 58-41 win over third seed York College. Following a slow start in Saturday's quarterfinal game against John Jay, the Hawks exploded to a 19-6 lead in the first 10 minutes of Tuesday's contest.

"We have enough experience to know to be aggressive at the beginning of a game,” said Hunter head coach Jackee Meadow. "We knew York would come back at us, but our style of defense came through because we stayed aggressive.”

After the Hawks led by as many as 18 points, going up 33-15 at the 17:55 mark of the second half, York used its scrappy style to claw back into the game. The Cardinals cut the deficit to nine (39-30) a little over five minutes later.

With York's triangle defense denying Hunter any offensive opportunities in the post, Meadow reinserted senior forward Jen Rogers (Brooklyn, NY) at the 12-minute mark. The team's all-time leader in three-pointers immediately hit one of those longrange bombs to return the Hawks a double-digit lead that extended through the 17-point final margin.

Rogers led Hunter with 19 points, including three treys. Senior guard Jezel Rodriguez (Bronx, NY) added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks, who advance to their sixth straight final. Hunter has won three finals, including last year's at home.

York (9-14) was led by sophomore guard Tashana Watson (Queens, NY) with 13 points. Senior all-star guard Garrianne Brown (Brooklyn, NY) added 12 points the final game of her career while freshman center Tara Grubbs (Freeport, NY) contributed 10 points for the Cardinals.

Rodriguez will be shooting for another NCAA Championship appearance for the Hawks. The two-time CUNYAC All- Tournament selection in basketball, two-time CUNYAC Tournament MVP in volleyball, and four-time CUNYAC All-Star in softball will go for her ninth national playoff experience when the Hawks face the College of Staten Island in Friday's 5:30 pm final.