WESTMINSTER, MD – The McDaniel College women's basketball team used a 22-4 run to close out the first half en route to a 64-40 non-conference win over York College on Tuesday night in Westminster.
The Green Terror improves to 4-0 while the Spartans fall to 3-2 overall including 0-2 on the road.
The Spartans got off to a great start in the game as York got off to a 10-5 lead in the first six minutes of the game. The Spartans led 14-10 on a Katie Wagner (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock) lay up with 11:12 left in the opening half. That's when the Green Terror fashioned the big 22-4 run, turning their four-point deficit into a 14 halftime lead. Lauren Ballenger led the charge during the run as she had seven points on the run. Brittany Davis and Steph Perez added three pointers on the run as the hosts seized control of the game.
The Green Terror continued to push the lead higher after the break as their advantage grew to 20 at 42-22 less than five minutes into the second stanza. The Spartans made a mini-run at McDaniel, cutting their deficit to 14 at 48-34 but the hosts quickly answered, pushing the lead back up to 22 less than three minutes later.
McDaniel increased the lead to as many as 25 before settling for the 24-point win. The win is the largest in the series since the Green Terror's 81-56 victory on January 26, 2010. The McDaniel win also snaps a three-game York winning streak in the series.
Turnovers and poor shooting killed any chance of a Spartan victory on Tuesday. The Spartans committed 30 turnovers and shot a chilly 28.1% from the floor.
Lindsey Nichols led the Green Terror with a game-high 15 points. Davis chipped in with 12 points while Perez added nine points and seven rebounds.
The Green Terror shot 34.4% in the win including 26.7% (4-for-15) from three. McDaniel converted 18-for-26 (69.2%) from the free throw line.
The 40 points for the Spartans was their lowest offensive output in 93 games. The last time the Spartans failed to get beyond 40 points came on February 24, 2011 when York defeated Marymount 37-32 in the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals en route to the Spartans 2011 CAC championship.
The Spartans had three players reach six points to lead the team. Sam Mocniak (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis), Morgan Kuehne (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion), and Kailee Knight (Crofton, Md./South River) each tallied six points. Knight added five rebounds while Shea Wassel (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) led York on the glass with seven rebounds to go along with four points.
The Spartan starters combined to score 14 points in the game.
York finished the game shooting 5.9% (1-for-17) from three while the icy shooting crept into their free throw shooting as they made just 7-of-14 from the stripe. The 30 turnovers were a season-high for the Green and White as the Green Terror turned the Spartan mistakes into 21 points.
York edged McDaniel on the glass, 45-44, while the Green Terror racked up 18 steals in the win.
The Spartans return to action on Sunday, November 30 when they host Wesley College in the Capital Athletic Conference opener for both squads. Tip time at Charles Wolf Gymnasium is set for 2:00 pm.