WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The York College women's basketball team dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten as they fell to Lycoming College 50-48 in the championship game of the Hoops for Hounds Classic on Tuesday afternoon in Williamsport, PA.
The Warriors Shelby Mueller hit a turn around jumper in the lane with 9.2 seconds left to provide for the final points, lifting the Warriors to the victory.
The Spartans fall to 9-1 overall as they were stymied in picking up their second in-season tournament championship of the year. The Warriors have won two in a row and four of their last five as they are now 7-4 for the year. It is just the third time in the ten-year history of the tournament that the host Warriors have captured the tournament title.
The first quarter was sloppy and offensively challenged as both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket. York led 5-4 midway through the quarter but the Warriors hit the Green and White with an 8-0 run as York couldn't stop Lycoming. The Spartans got a four point run from Karli McFatridge (York, Pa./York Catholic) but Mueller hit a lay up with eight seconds left in the quarter to push the Lycoming lead to 14-9 after one.
The Spartans showed signs of life in the second quarter as head coach Betsy Witman switched up the York defense and the Spartans started climbing back into the game. The Green and White recaptured the lead on a Katie Wagner (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock) three point play with 3:23 left in the half. The Warriors tied the game at 20 and the Green and White responded with aSam Mocniak (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) three from the baseline as York led 23-20. Haley Sipple closed out the first half scoring with a jumper with 2:22 remaining on the clock. Neither team would score the rest of the half as York took a 23-22 lead to the break.
The third quarter saw the lead bounce back and fourth as neither team was able to pull away. Both teams held a three point lead at some point during the quarter with York holding that advantage twice including a 36-33 lead heading to the fourth.
The Green and White pushed the lead to four three different times during the opening three minutes of the final quarter including the final time on a Wagner lay up with 7:07 left in the game. The Warriors quickly erased the lead as Shelby Schoonover banged a three with the shot clock expiring and Mueller hit an elbow jumper on the next possession to give the Warriors a 42-41 lead with 5:46 remaining.
The Warriors pushed the lead to 47-43 when Nicole Calella hit a lay up with 58 seconds left in the game. The Spartans had a stroke of good fortune as Morgan Golec (Abingdon, Md./Patterson Mill) hit a banked three from deep with 22 seconds left, pulling York to within one at 47-46. The Spartans fouled and Calella split the pair, pushing the Warrior lead to 48-46. The Spartans called timeout and Witman drew up a brilliant play that allowed Brianna Bisci (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) to get a wide open lay up with 12.2 seconds left on the clock.
The Warriors called timeout and drew up the game-winning play. Schoonover received the inbounds pass and lobbed it into Mueller in the lane and the forward finished the chance to give the Warriors the lead with 9.2 ticks left on the clock.
The Spartans had a look with under three seconds left as Bisci took a three from the top of the key. The shot went off to the right and Golec had a chance but her tip was just wide of the mark as the Warriors survived the Spartans' last possession.
Calella was named the tournament MVP as she tossed in 11 points with five assists, four steals, and three rebounds in her 27 minutes of work. Muller led the Warriors with 13 points while she also had five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Chelsea Henderson also played well for the Warriors as she had 10 points, seven rebounds, six steals and two assists.
Lycoming shot 39.6% from the floor for the game while they went 3-for-9 (33.3%) from three and 9-for-14 (64.3%) from the stripe.
Wagner led the Spartans as she poured in a game-high 15 points as she was 7-for-9 from the floor and 1-for-1 from the stripe. Wagner added two steals, an assist and a rebound in her 20 minutes of action. Golec was the only other Spartan to reach double figures as she had 11 points in her 23 minutes of work. Golec also pulled in five rebounds for the Spartans.
Sarah Shearer (York, Pa./West York) earned All-Tournament team honors as she played an all around game for York. Shearer had eight rebounds, five steals, three points, two assists and two blocked shot for York.
The Spartans shot 32.1% from the floor in the loss while they were a season-worse 3-for-26 (11.5%) from three. The 26 attempts are the most this season while the three makes are tied for their third lowest total of the year. York was 9-for-16 (56.3%) from the line in the setback.
The Spartans finished the game with a 35-33 rebounding advantage which led to a 9-3 margin in second chance points. Both teams were sloppy in the game as Lycoming had 25 turnovers while the Spartans committed 22 miscues. The Green and White finished the game with an 18-13 margin in points off turnovers.
The Spartans look to get back on track on Saturday when they return to Wolf Gymnasium to host the PSU Harrisburg Lions in a Capital Athletic Conference contest. Tip time from York is set for 1:00 pm.