Spartans' Balanced in Advancing to White Rose City Classic Championship Game

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YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team rolled to a sloppy 79-50 victory over Rosemont College in the opening round of the 2010 White Rose City Classic in York on Saturday night. The Spartans remain perfect with a 3-0 mark while the Ravens are now 0-1 for the campaign.

Freshman Kristen Haley led a balanced Spartan effort as all 15 Spartans who dressed played at least three minutes in the contest.

The Spartans actually trailed as late as the eight-minute mark as the Ravens had a 9-8 lead. The Green and White then assembled a 22-0 run started with a Haley jumper and ended with another jumper from the freshman standout. The run covered 6:21 of game time and turned a one point Spartan deficit into a 30-9 lead.

The Green and White took a 40-19 lead to the break despite committing 15 first half turnovers. The Spartans did shot a blistering 60.7% from the floor while the Ravens were held to just 23.3% shooting in the half.

York opened the second half with consecutive buckets by Jaimie Sapp and Brittany Hicks to open up a 25 point lead. The Ravens eventually cut the lead to 17 with 5:36 left in the game but York outscored their guests 19-6 over the final 5:22 to secure the 29-point win.

Haley had an efficient 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the night. She also had five rebounds, two steals, a blocked shot and an assist in her 25 minutes of work. Sapp was strong for the Green and White in the post as she tallied 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor in addition to a 1-for-2 performance from the stripe. Sapp also pulled in three rebounds for York. Freshman Kelsey Murphy continues to impress for the Spartans as the guard had 10 points, six assists, five rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in her 28 minutes of action. Freshman Caitlin Herman made her season debut after missing the first two games due to injury. Herman had six points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist in her 11 minutes of play.

Karen Boyle and Katharine Reppert each had 10 points to pace the Ravens. Reppert also handed out four assists and collected two steals. Ashley Montecchio and Vanessa Johnson each pulled in a game-high seven boards for Rosemont.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 50.7% from the floor including 33.3% (5-for-15) from three. The Green and White shot just 50% from the line in a mere eight trips to the stripe. Rosemont shot 26.3% from the field including 30.4% (7-for-23) from downtown. The Ravens went to the line 21 times, converting 13 for a 61.9% free throw percentage.

The Spartans pounded the smaller Ravens on the boards to the tune of a 49-33 rebounding margin. York also forced 27 turnovers, which they turned into 27 points. York committed 24 turnovers of their own but it cost the Spartans just 18 points.

York advances to the championship game where they will host the winner of the College of New Jersey/PSU-Harrisburg game at 3:00 pm on Sunday. Rosemont will take on the loser of that game in the consolation game tipping at 1:00 pm.