YORK, PA – Sophomore Katie Wagner (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock) hit a driving lay up with 11.2 seconds left to lift the York College Spartans to a 54-52 Capital Athletic Conference tournament first round win over Salisbury University on Tuesday night in York.
The win pushes the Spartans' record to 20-7 overall as they advance to the conference semifinals on Thursday at top seeded Marymount University. It is the fifth time under head coach Betsy Witman that the Spartans have reached the 20-win milestone. The Sea Gulls see their season end with a mark of 13-13 after winning the conference championship last season.
Wagner's lay up capped a frenetic final minute and a half of play. With 1:23 left, the Sea Gulls got a pair of Kaylyn French free throws to give Salisbury at 51-50 lead. The Spartans missed the ensuing three-point field goal attempt with 35 seconds left. As Salisbury was moving the ball up the floor, it appeared that Wagner got her hands on the ball, forcing the ball. A whistle was blown with the ball loose and a timeout was awarded to the Sea Gulls. York was forced to foul and they sent Salisbury's top free throw shooter, Mary McDonagh, to the line for two shots with 26 seconds left. She made the first and missed the second, giving York a chance. After a timeout, Wagner curled down the right side of the line and was fouled, giving the sophomore a chance to tie the game with 22.6 seconds left. Wagner calmly sunk the two free throws, tying the game at 52.
After a Salisbury timeout, McDonagh got an open three-point attempt from the left wing but her shot fell short and Wagner grabbed the defensive rebound. After York called another timeout, York ran the same inbounds play and Wagner finished the chance from the right block, giving York the two-point lead.
Salisbury got a tough, well guarded Julia McLaughlin shot in the lane with two seconds left. Fortunately for York, junior Sam Hruz (White Marsh, Md./Mercy) pulled in the board and the Spartans advanced to the CAC semifinals for the 11th straight year.
Offense was at a premium in the first quarter as neither team held more than a three-point lead in the stanza. The teams headed the second tied at 11. The second quarter had a better scoring pace to it as the squads spent the first eight minutes of the quarter going back and forth. Those eight minutes saw four ties and three lead changes before the Spartans got a quick 5-0 spurt to take a 28-23 lead with 41 seconds left before half. That would be York's biggest lead of the game. McDonagh hit a pair of free throws four seconds before the break as York took a 28-25 lead to the intermission.
The third quarter was another tight stanza featuring four more ties and four more lead changes. The Spartans trailed by three on a Lauren Rothfeld triple with 1:27 left but Sarah Shearer (York, Pa./West York) split a pair of free throws and Wagner cashed out a huge three from the left wing to put York up 42-41 heading to the eventful fourth quarter.
In the fourth, York pushed out to a 46-42 with 6:43 left but the Sea Gulls tied the game for the 11th time on a McLaughlin jumper. The Spartans took a 50-49 lead on a Wagner baseline jumper with 2:10 left, setting the stage for the dramatic closing to the game.
Wagner led the Spartans with 17 points and a career-high eight rebounds. She was 5-for-10 from the floor, 1-for-2 from three and a career-high 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Hruz was also huge for the Spartans as she recorded her eighth double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She also blocked seven shots and dished out four assists in her 35 minutes of work. Hruz was 6-for-14 from the floor including 1-for-2 from three.
Senior Julianne Lambert (Hockessin, Del./Padua Academy) was huge for York in the first half as she tallied 10 first half points. She was 3-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. She also had two blocked shots, two steals, two assists and a rebound in her 17 minutes of work. Shearer chipped in with seven points and six rebounds in 21 minutes as she battled early foul trouble.
McLaughlin closed out her stellar career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for her tenth double-double of the year. She was 8-for-17 from the floor while she also had three steals and a blocked shot in 35 minutes of play. Rothfeld added 12 points and seven rebounds as the other Gull to reach double figures. French contributed eight points and three rebounds.
Neither team lit it up from the field as York shot 31.5% from the floor while Salisbury shot a tick better at 32.8% from the field. York was just 2-for-12 (16.7%) from three while Salisbury made 3-of-10 from deep as defense really did rule the game. York was fantastic at the free throw line as they made 18-of-24 (75%) while SU was 11-for-18 (61.1%).
Salisbury outrebounded York in both of the regular season games. The Gulls held an 11-rebound margin in the first meeting and by six in the regular season game in York. On Tuesday, the Spartans held a 45-38 edge in rebounding including 16 offensive rebounds. Despite York's advantage on the boards, Salisbury had a 16-8 margin in second chance points.
Both teams had 14 turnovers in the game was York had a very slight 16-14 edge in points off turnovers.
The game could not have been much closer as the final tally saw 13 ties and 14 lead changes. York's largest lead was five and Salisbury's biggest margin was three.
The Spartans now head to Marymount for the semifinals. The Saints, who went 16-2 in the league to win the regular season championship, swept the Spartans during the regular season. The Saints blitzed the Spartans in York in early January but the game in Arlington was much closer as Marymount held the Spartans off late, 56-54.
Tip time at Verizon Arena is scheduled for 6:00 pm.