Women win third straight CUNYAC championship

For the third straight season, the Bearcats brought home the CUNY Athletic Conference championship when they defeated their Lexington Avenue rival, Hunter College, 93-84, on Saturday, Feb. 27 at CCNY's Nat Holman Gym.

With the victory, Baruch clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament for the third season in a row and established themselves as the dominant force in CUNYAC women's basketball.

Last year's CUNYAC Player of the Year, senior Kalea Davis, took home the tournament MVP honors by recording 19 points and 15 rebounds in the game and junior Monique Salmon, who took home this year's CUNYAC Player of the Year honors, dished out a CUNYAC championship game record, 16 assists, in the victory.

"We knew that Hunter would come into the game and play their hearts out," said Salmon, who also scored eight points in the game. "We played a hard game…and we came out on top."

Hunter kept the game close throughout the entire contest. But as Baruch was up 45-42 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game, the Bearcats went on a game-changing 12-2 run to take a 57-44 lead with 11:50 in the game.

The Hawks tried to respond, but it was too little too late. Baruch had an answer for every Hunter basket coming down the stretch to secure the victory.

"We, as well as Hunter, played hard from start to finish," said captain and senior Christina Kelly. "But we came out on top…it was an amazing feeling."

To add to the glory, the Bearcats defeated their long time rival Hunter to take home the title, although, because of how one-sided the rivalry has been in recent history, the Baruch players consider Lehman their true rival.

"Playing Hunter was just as tough as playing Lehman," said Kelly. The Bearcats lost to Hunter to record its first loss in two years earlier this season. "Lehman is, in our eyes, our rival … we wanted to see Lehman."

Along with Davis and Salmon, junior Anika Sierk, was named to the all-CUNYAC tournament team on the strength of her double-double, 22 points and 18 assists, in the championship game.

With the win, the Bearcats clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament as the CUNYAC representative, a challenge that they are looking forward to.

"The key [to the tournament] is to play our game; we have to stay focused on the game plan," said Kelly. "Going into the tournament, there is going to be better players and bigger players … so, that is something we definitely have to be prepared for."

Salmon, who missed the first CUNYAC tournament game with an injury, is starting to get back into her groove, which is going to be a vital part of the team's success going forward.

"We are so excited that she is back," said Kelly. "Now we have a legit point guard to get us through our offense and lead us as a captain."

"[My success depends] on the team," said Salmon. "Without the team, I can't make assists, without their passes I can't make a shot and without them missing I can't make a rebound."

Even though Baruch is proud of their CUNYAC accomplishment, their goals for the season are far from over.

"Everything together is piling up and we are doing great things," said Salmon.