YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team got back on the winning side of the ledger with a 77-37 non-conference win over Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon in York.
The Spartans improve to 3-1 overall while the Diplomats fall to 0-4.
The Green and White got off to a very fast start as they began the game on a 17-0 run. The run could have been far greater but the Spartans didn't exactly shoot the lights out but it didn't matter as the York defense held the Diplomats in check. They limited F&M to just 12 first half points as the Diplomats went 5-for-35 from the field with nine turnovers. York wasn't great from the floor either as they went 16-for-50 (32%) including a dismal 2-for-18 from beyond the arc. The Spartans saving grace was their 17 offensive rebounds and their 42 total rebounds at the break.
F&M came out the intermission and took the play to the Spartans in the opening minutes of the second half. The Diplomats trimmed their 22-point halftime deficit to just 13 courtesy of an 11-2 run to start the second half.
After a Spartan timeout with 15:14 remaining in the game, the Spartans got back on track offensively as they fashioned a prolonged 26-7 run to push their lead to 35 with 4:37 left in the game. York's 40-point margin of victory would be their largest lead of the game.
The Spartans established a trio of new school records in the win. The Green and White attempted a school record 91 shots, collected 78 rebounds and jacked up 34 three-point field goal attempts.
Senior Shea Wassel (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) led the Spartans with her third double-double of the year as she poured in 20 points and pulled in 14 rebounds in just 16 minutes of play. Wassel was 10-for-14 from the field while she also had a career-high four blocked shots. Senior Jess Selby (Upper Marlboro, Md./Calverton School) added her first career double-double as she tallied 14 second-half points in addition to a career-high 11 rebounds. Freshman Sam Mocniak (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) poured in a career-high 17 points while she also pulled in five rebounds and dished out two assists.
The Spartans had a number of new career highs established in the victory. Sophomore point guard Brianna Bisci (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) dished out eight assists and pulled in seven rebounds setting a pair of new career standards. Freshman point guard Beth Patrick (Pitman, N.J./Pitman) came off the bench to record five assists in just 13 minutes of action. Sophomore Dalida Camdzic (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) pulled in eight rebounds and blocked three shots in nine minutes of work as both marks set new career highs for the forward.
Sarah Haddon led the Diplomats with 10 rebounds while she also had six points, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Kara Bacile led the Diplomat offense with eight points.
The Spartans ended up shooting just 37.4% from the floor and only 20.6% from three point range. The Spartans also attempted just five free throws in the game, making a season-low two.
The Diplomats completed the game shooting 19.2% from the field including 4-of-18 (22.2%) from three. F&M wasn't very accurate from free throw line either as they converted 5-of-11 (45.5%) from the stripe.
The Spartans finished the game with a 78-43 margin in rebounding while the Green and White also blocked 11 shots, just one short of tying the school record of 12. York did a great job of sharing the ball as they dished out 28 assists on their 34 field goals. Both teams committed 16 turnovers in the contest.
The Spartans recorded a 44-14 margin in points in the paint while they also held a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers. The York bench also outscored their counterparts 37-8.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday night when they face a very challenging task as they head to McDaniel College to face the Green Terror in a key regional tilt. Tip time in Westminster is set for 6:00 pm. The Green Terror enter the match up undefeated at 3-0 as they have won their three games by almost 30 points per game.