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 #1 STATEN ISLAND 71 , #4 BARUCH 62
BOX SCORE
Jamaica, NY - Top-seeded Staten Island (21-5) advanced to the finals of the 2004 CUNYAC/ Con Edison Women's Basketball
Championships for the second straight season with a 71-62 win over No. 4 Baruch (14-13). The Dolphins, who will be making their
eighth appearance in the last nine years in the finals, will face No. 2 Hunter on Friday night at 5:30 pm ay York College.
"We fought hard today to stay on top,” said CSI head coach Marguerite Gualtieri, the CUNYAC Coach of the Year.
"We were able to
beat them on the boards early on and then hold them off later on when they made a run. Still, winning the final is always a goal and now
we'll have a chance to do that if we come ready to play of Friday.”
Staten Island senior forward Jaccyln Rock (New Dorp/Staten Island, NY), the CUNYAC Player of the Year, scored 16 of her teamhigh
22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the opening half. Leading by 14 points at the break, the Dolphins pushed the lead to 53-
34 with 11:14 remaining as freshman guard Acasha Gordon (Curtis/Staten Island, NY) hit a three-point goal. The Bearcats went on a
15-4 run behind eight points by freshmen forward Alexandra Stamatiades (Bryant/Queens, NY) to close within 57-49 with 3:20 left, but
that was as close as they would get.
Staten Island, who outrebounded Baruch 35-14 in the opening stanza, jumped out to a 20-4 lead at the 12:41 mark. The Dolphins
pushed the lead to 26-9 after a pair of free throws by Rock, but Baruch responded with a 13-6 spurt to close within 32-22 with 3:17
remaining. Sophomore forward Jessenia Marrero (Francis Lewis/Flushing, NY) hit a three-point goal to bring the Bearcats within 34-
25 with 2:40 left, but Staten Island scored the next two buckets to extend to 38-25 with 1:25 left and grabbed a 14 point halftime edge.
Rock finished with a game-high 22 rebounds and senior forward Tamara Taylor (Curtis/Staten Island, NY) added a double-double
with 11 points and 14 rebounds. "Being on this team has meant a lot to me,” said Taylor, the CUNYAC Player of the Year three seasons
ago, while playing at York. "I've been dreaming about playing in the final for years. If we stay focused and play within ourselves, then it
will be a great game.” Rock also surpassed the 1,000 mark in career rebounds and stood at 1,016 at the conclusion of the game.
Stamatiades (Bryant/Queens, NY) led Baruch with 23 points. Marrero added 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the
Bearcats.
Staten Island shot only 34 percent from the floor (23-for-66), but outrebounded the Bearcats by a lopsided, 67-33 margin.
Sophomore guard Kim Thompson (St. John Villa/Staten Island, NY) added 15 points and six rebounds for the Dolphins.
#2 HUNTER 81, #3 JOHN JAY 66
BOX SCORE
 Jamaica, NY -
Second-seeded Hunter (17-10) reached the finals of the CUNYAC / Con Edison Women's Basketball Championships
for the seventh straight year with a 81-66 victory over No. 3 John Jay (17-9). The victory sets up a rematch of last year's final when
Hunter defeated Staten Island, 64-63. The two teams have met in six of the last seven championship games.
Hunter, which led 39-25 at halftime, put the game away early in the second half by outscoring John Jay by a 13-6 margin over the
first 5:23. It gave the Hawks a 52-31 lead, their largest advantage of the game. John Jay cut the deficit to 11 points on several occasions
in the final ten minutes of the contest but Hawks' senior forward Jen Agosto (Midwood/Brooklyn, NY) scored 15 straight points to dash
John Jay's comeback hopes. Agosto finished with 17 of her team-high 22 points in the second half.
Hunter ran out to a 15-2 advantage to open the game as John Jay misfired on nine of its first ten field goal attempts. The
Bloodhounds went on a 15-6 run to close to within 21-17 with 7:25 left, but the Hawks reeled off 10 straight points to extend their
advantage to 31-17 with 4:10 remaining. Sophomore guard Jen Chico Ithier (Manhattan Center, New York, NY) capped the run with a
three-pointer from the top of the arc. The Hawks settled for a 39-25 halftime edge as Ithier netted 12 points (7-for-10 free throws) to lead
all scorers. John Jay's leading scorer, senior guard December Bails (Frederick Douglas/Brooklyn, NY), was saddled with her third foul
just 7:15 into the contest and sat for the remainder of the period.
In addition to Agosto, Ithier finished with 16 points and senior center Tania Blanco (Saint Catherine/Bronx, NY) added 13 points
and a game-high 22 rebounds. Blanco surpassed 1,000 career rebounds early in the second half to end the game at 1,010.
"We're a well balanced team,” said Hunter head coach Jackee Meadow. "I questioned our shot selection at times, but our defense
was key. Today, we were able to score in transition as well.”
Senior forward Cherith Pointer (Midwood/Brooklyn, NY) led John Jay with 26 points and 18 rebounds. Pointer's work on the
boards tuly made it a "Night of 1,000 Rebounds” as she increased her career total to 1,004. Junior guard Liesel-Ann Amow (Boys &
Girls/Brooklyn, NY) added 12 points for the Bloodhounds.
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