YORK, Pa. – Brittany Hicks poured in a season-high 19 points and Aja Wallpher registered a 10 assists as the York College women's basketball trumped visiting Stevenson 71-58 Wednesday evening at the Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center. With the Capital Athletic Conference victory, the Spartans improve to 13-3 overall and 7-1 in CAC action while the Mustangs drop to 6-10 and 2-6 in the league.
Hicks started out hot for the Green and White as she tallied 10 of York's first 12 points. On the strength of Hicks' early work, the Spartans jumped out to a 12-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest. That advantage extended to 20-8 with 8:30 remaining following a pair of converted Kristen Haley free throws and reached a first-half high of 13 on two occasions. With 5:17 left in the first, Hicks knocked down a jumper for her 13th and 14th points of the game and gave York a 27-14 lead.
Stevenson made a gash in that Green and White lead over the next 3:14, going on a 9-0 run to cut the Spartan advantage to a mere four at 27-23 with 2:03 left. That would prove as close as the Mustangs would get however, as York quickly extended their margin back out to 10. In fitting fashion, it would be Hicks who finished off the first half scoring with a free throw to open a 33-23 York lead at the break.
The second frame saw the Green and White stay around that 10-point advantage through the first eight minutes. With 11:54 left, Taylor Santor hit a triple to spark a 12-2 Spartan run over the next 3:12. York's spurt pushed their lead to the high-water mark of 20 at 58-38 with 8:42 remaining.
From there, the Spartan lead never dipped below double-digits as they closed out the CAC triumph.
Aside from Hicks' performance, Wallpher was exceptionally effective for York on both ends of the floor. Including her 10 assists, the sophomore point guard also tallied a career-best eight steals as she proved consistently active on the defensive end. That effort highlighted York's team defense as the squad ripped a season-high 17 steals. Wallpher has 23 assists and 15 steals in her last two games.
Offensively, April Sparkman, Haley, and Kelsey Murphy each registered double-digits as they notched 15, 14, and 11 points, respectively. Including tonight's effort, Sparkman and Haley have each reached double-figures in scoring in 14 of York's 16 contests during the season as 13 times the pair has recorded double-digits in the same game.
For the Mustangs, Kyarra Harmon led Stevenson with 15 points on a 6-for-12 shooting effort while pulling down a team-best eight rebounds. Rayshell Parker and Daniela Poss each totaled nine points for the visitors.
The Spartans, who remain in sole possession of second-place in the league standings, return to action on Saturday, January 21. York is slated to travel to Marymount (Va.) to take on the Saints in a 2:00 pm CAC tilt.