DELAWARE, OHIO – The York College women's basketball squad posted a gritty 69-66 overtime victory over Franklin College in the second round of the Ohio Wesleyan Bishop Classic – Hoops for Hope Tournament in Delaware, Ohio on Wednesday afternoon.
The Spartans snap a five-game losing skid as they improve to 4-6 overall while the Grizzlies fall to 5-4 overall as they have dropped three straight decisions.
The game was back and forth all afternoon long. The first half featured six lead changes and five ties. The Grizzlies' largest lead was three early in the contest while the Spartans held a five point lead at 14-9 midway through the half. York took a narrow 24-23 lead to the break.
The Grizzlies came out of the intermission and hit the Green and White with a 15-7 run to take a 38-31 lead. The seven point margin was the biggest lead for either squad in the contest. The Spartans eventually pulled even thanks to a 9-2 run covering just under three minutes of play.
That would set the stage for a tightly contested final ten minutes of regulation. Neither team held more than a four point lead during that final stretch of the game.
With the two squads tied at 50 with 2:15 remaining in regulation, the Spartans took a two point lead on a Sam Hruz (White Marsh, Md./Mercy) bucket. The York lead grew to three after a defensive rebound and foul sent Sarah Shearer (York, Pa./West York) to the free throw line with 1:12 left. Shearer split the pair of free throws to give York the 53-50 lead. The Grizzlies' Lauren DeSutter answered with a lay up to draw Franklin to within one. Hruz missed a three on York's ensuing possession and then fouled Katie Brewer to give the Grizzlies a chance to take the lead. Brewer drilled the pair with 19 seconds left to give Franklin the one point lead.
On the Spartans' final possession of regulation, Hruz drew a foul and went to the line for two. The Spartan sophomore drilled the first but missed the second as the two squads headed to overtime.
In the extra session, the teams traded points in their first three possessions before the Grizzlies took a 62-60 lead on a Lindsey Dall hoop with 1:48 remaining in the extra stanza. Spartan sophomore Brianna Bisci (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) drained her fifth triple of the game to give York a short-lived 63-62 lead. Nichole Thompson answered with a lay up to give Franklin their final lead of the game with 1:09 left in the contest. Shearer recaptured the lead for York with a lay up 17 seconds later as York took a 65-64 lead.
After a Franklin turnover, Hruz was fouled and sank a pair of free throws to push York's lead to three with 29 seconds left. Dall cut the lead to one but that's as close as they would get the rest of the way. Shearer and Bisci each split a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to preserve the win for York.
Shearer and Bisci both had career days for the Green and White. Shearer poured in a career-high 18 points off the bench for York. The sophomore was 5-for-9 from the floor including 1-for-1 from three while she also made seven free throws in the win. Shearer chipped in with a career-high tying five rebounds and a career-high four steals. Bisci was also outstanding in her career-high 42 minutes of play. She tallied a career-high 16 points, as she was 5-for-5 from three and 1-for-2 from the line in the win. Her five three point field goals tied an Ohio Wesleyan Branch Rickey Arena record.
Hruz, who earned a spot on the All-Tournament team for her two-game performance added 13 points, three rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals in her 35 minutes of play.
The Grizzlies had five players reach double figures led by DeSutter as she tallied 16 points in 38 minutes of play. Brewer and Dall each contributed 12 points while Kayle Comer and Thompson each scored 10 points. Dall and Thompson led Franklin on the glass with eight rebounds each.
York finished the game shooting 38.2% from the floor while they also drained a season-high eight three point field goals on 17 attempts (47.1%). The Spartans did enough at the free throw line to enable them to win as York was 19-for-31 (60%) from the stripe. The 19 free throws are the Spartans' highest number of makes since they made 20 in the season-opening win over Cazenovia.
Franklin shot 37.9% for the game including 4-for-11 from three. The Grizzlies were very accurate from the line as they went 12-for-14 (85.7%).
Franklin outrebounded the Spartans 42-39 and held a 14-8 margin in second chance points.
The Spartans' 15 points in overtime established a new Branch Rickey Arena record for points in a single overtime.
The Spartans return to York on Wednesday evening before heading back out on the road Friday afternoon when they travel to Newport News, Virginia for a Capital Athletic Conference game against the CNU Captains on Saturday at 2:00 pm.