YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team opened their Capital Athletic Conference schedule with a 74-54 victory over the Wesley College Wolverines on Wednesday night in York.
The Spartans are now 5-0 and 1-0 in the Capital Athletic Conference. The Wolverines are now 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the league. Wesley has lost five in a row after winning their season opening game against Southern Virginia.
The first quarter was a sloppy one as neither team got any offensive traction. The Spartans committed seven turnovers and converted just 4-of-18 shots from the field and only 4-of-9 from the free throw line. Wesley wasn't much better as they went 3-for-15 from the field and 3-for-9 from the stripe with four turnovers. The quarter featured five lead changes and four ties before Katie Wagner (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock) gave York a 12-10 lead on a lay up with 11 seconds remaining in the period.
Sophomore Sam Mocniak (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) got the Spartans off to a good start in the second quarter as she drilled a three from the right wing on York's opening possession of the period, pushing York's lead to 15-10. That three was part of a 9-0 Spartan lead as the York lead grew to 19-10 on a Sam Hruz (White Marsh, Md./Mercy) put back with 8:09 remaining in the half.
The Wolverines cut the Spartan lead to 23-21 with a 5-0 spurt capped by a Tiyanna Gibbs lay up.
The Spartans pushed the lead to 25-21 when freshman Katie McGowan (York, Pa./Dallastown) hit a lay up at the 3:34 mark. The Spartans would get a Sarah Shearer (York, Pa./West York) triple from the left wing to up the lead to 28-21. Wesley tallied a pair of free throws to close out the half as York took the five-point lead to the break.
The Spartans came out of the intermission on a 12-2 run, opening their lead up to 15 points. Wagner and Shearer fueled the run with four points each. The Wolverines trimmed the Spartan lead to nine at 46-37 with 2:27 left in the quarter. York pushed it back to 11 twice before settling for the 50-41 lead after three quarters of play.
The Spartans started off quick again in the fourth period as they scored eight of the first 12 points of the quarter, pushing their lead to 58-45 with 7:38 remaining in the game. The York lead grew to as many as 21 before the Spartans settled for the 20-point win. York outscored Wesley 24-13 in the final quarter.
The Spartans got a big night from Kuehne as the sophomore forward poured in a career-high 20 points in her 30 minutes of work. Kuehne was 8-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the stripe in the win. She also pulled in four rebounds, dished out two assists and grabbed one steal. Mocniak came off the bench for York and contributed a season-high 14 points. She was 6-for-9 from the floor including 2-of-3 from distance. Hruz recorded her second double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds in her 24 minutes of action. Hruz was 6-for-12 from the floor while she also had three assists, two blocked shots and three steals. Shearer was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 11 points while she also had a strong game on the glass with a career-high eight caroms.
The Wolverines placed three players in double figures led by Gibbs as she tallied 11 points to go along with six rebounds. Gibbs was 4-for-13 from the floor including 1-for-7 from three. She sank both of her free throw attempts in the game. Brionna Johnson and Alexus Stroud each added 10 points to the Wesley attack. Johnson added seven rebounds in her 27 minutes of action.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 49.2% from the floor including 3-for-12 (25%) from downtown. The Spartans again struggled at the free throw line as the Spartans were an ice cold 9-for-26 (34.6%) from the stripe. Wesley shot 30% from the field, 14.3% (3-for-21) from three and were a respectable 68.2% (15-for-22) from the free throw line.
The Spartans committed a season-high 24 turnovers while the Wolverines had 20 miscues. The Spartans dominated on the glass as they outrebounded their guests 50-37. York held a 44-24 advantage in the paint while they also had a 16-10 margin in second chance points.
The Spartans take to the road on Saturday when they head to Southern Virginia to face the Knights in a Capital Athletic Conference contest. Tip time from Buena Vista, Virginia is set for 1:00 pm.