Baruch (20-5), the CUNYAC's North Division Champions, scored the games' first ten points. However, they allowed CCNY to come back to within three at 18-15, but opened the game back up to go into the half leading 35-20.
They increased the lead throughout the second half as every player saw significant action.
The Bearcats were led by Racquel Reid with 17 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Jody Trapp had 13 points and four assists. Those two led Baruch to their fourth straight semifinal appearance and first 20-win season in school history.
"CCNY worked real hard today,” said first-year head coach Machli Joseph, “they gave us forty minutes of hard play and that's all you can ask for. We got a good feel for this place today going into Tuesday's game.”
CCNY (4-22) was led by senior forward Anclin Perez with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds, while fellow senior guard Kimberly Neos was held to seven points in the loss.
“We are ready for the challenge of playing Hunter on a neutral court,” continued Joseph. “We're going to put it all out there and give them all we have. We're not going to see too many different things, it's really a test to see who the better team in the end is.”
Baruch will play Hunter a third time this season and on a neutral floor for the first time, as each team won previously on their home court.
The game will be the second semifinal at Lehman College this Tuesday night, February 22, at 7:30 p.m.