YORK, PA – The York College Women's Basketball squad cruises to a 2-0 start in the Capital Athletic Conference and 7-0 overall after an 84-41 league win against Penn State Harrisburg on Wednesday night in York.
Penn State Harrisburg dropped to 0-1 in the league as Wednesday night was their first-ever CAC contest. The Lions are now 3-4 overall.
The Spartans got off to an early start with a quick three from Kelsey Murphy (Olney, Md./Good Counsel) off the assist from Aja Wallpher (Ellicott City, Md./Seton Keough). They wouldn't stop after just that three as the Green and White came out hot to start the game with a 7-0 run. The Spartans kept the pressure on the Lions as the York lead grew to 21-4 with 13:19 left in the first half. The Spartan lead grew to as many as 25 at 34-9 before York settled for a 17-point halftime lead.
The second half was about the same as the Spartans were able to break any type of pressure from the Nittany Lions. York pushed the ball very well during the game and they were also able to dominate the half court sets. The Spartans placed relentless defensive pressure on Penn State forcing 27 turnovers.
Three seniors led the charge for the Spartans in today's contest. Wallpher had one of her best games of the season recording nine assists, eight points, seven rebounds, and four steals in her 25 minutes of work. Kristen Haley (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Visitation) was the leading scorer of the game with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor including 3-for-3 from three. Haley also pulled in five rebounds and had a blocked shot. Brittany Hicks (Dover, Pa./York Catholic) was 6-for-10 from the field, scoring 15 points, with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Murphy also reached double-digit points for the Green and White with 10 points and she also dished four assists.
York's Karli McFatridge (York, Pa. / York Catholic) had a career high five rebounds during the game, and Morgan Golec (Abingdon, Md. / Patterson Mill) had a career-high eight points as she was 3-for-5 from the field including one three while she was 1-for-2 from the stripe.
The Lions were led by Ana Edmondson as she came off the bench to toss in nine points while she also collected five rebounds. Miranda Zeanchock added eight points and three boards.
York finished the game shooting 47.2% from the field, including 8-for-19 (42.1%) from 3-point range. The Spartans struggled tonight from the line shooting only 53.3% as they converted just 8-of-15. The Lions were held to just 20.8% shooting from the field, as they are the fifth opponent that York has held to under 30% shooting in a game.
The Spartans outrebounded the Lions 56-34, which helped erase the pain of York's 22 turnovers. Fortunately for York, only 15 points came off of their miscues. The Spartans attempted 19 more shots in the win.
The Spartans return to action against newly added CAC rival Christopher Newport University on Saturday. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 1:00 pm. This will also be Special Olympics Day at Wolf Gymnasium.