FREDERICKSBURG, VA – The York College women's basketball team earned a berth in the 2020 Capital Athletic Conference Championship game courtesy of their 64-51 road win at second-seeded Mary Washington on Wednesday night in Fredericksburg. The Spartans advance to their sixth Capital Athletic Conference championship game in their final year in the league. York heads to Newport News on Saturday to face the top seeded CNU Captains at the Freeman Center. The Captains bounced fourth-seeded Salisbury 76-63 in their semifinal game on Wednesday.
Wednesday's victory came 11 days after the Eagles handed the Spartans a 28-point loss on the same court in Fredericksburg.
Records
York (Pa.): 17-10
Mary Washington: 17-9
Team Stats
Score: York 64, Mary Washington 51
FG: York 18-for-42 (42.9%), UMW 18-for-51 (35.3%)
3PT FG: York 9-for-20 (45%), UMW 5-for-19 (26.3%)
FT: York 19-for-26 (73.1%), UMW 10-for-15 (66.7%)
Rebounds: York 34, UMW 32
Assists: York 10, UMW 7
Turnovers: York 16, UMW 16
Blocked Shots: York 2, UMW 2
Steals: York 7, UMW 5
How It Happened:
• The Spartans had a good first quarter on the road on Wednesday. With the game tied at ten midway through the quarter, the Spartans went on a 9-3 run over the final 4:51 of the quarter to take a 19-13 lead after ten minutes of play.
• The Spartans carried the lead through the first five minutes of the second quarter before the Eagles got a Molly Sharman three to take a 23-22 lead. The remainder of the quarter saw seven more lead changes before an Alana Bortner triple at the horn gave the Spartans a 32-30 lead at the break.
• The third quarter lacked any offensive fireworks but the Spartans maintained their lead throughout the period. Molly Day drilled a three to start the quarter pushing York's lead to five. The York lead eventually grew to six on another Bortner three but the Eagles trimmed their deficit to three heading to the fourth quarter.
• The Spartans opened the fourth quarter by scoring the first four points of the stanza to push the lead to seven (47-40). The Eagles answered with six straight points, trimming the Spartan lead to one with 4:33 left in the game. Back-to-back three pointers from Haley Luckabaugh and Day quickly pushed York's lead back to seven with 3:12 left in the game.
• The Eagles made one last push as Emily Thompson hit a pair of free throws with 2:09 left, cutting York's lead to four. York responded with two free throws from Luckabaugh and two more by Day to increase the lead back to eight. Those four free throws with the start of a 9-0 run to end the game for the Spartans. All nine points came from the free throw line for the Spartans as York went 9-for-11 over the final 1:40 of the game to secure the 13-point win.
Spartan Leaders:
Molly Day: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Haley Luckabaugh: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Kayla Ferris: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot, 2 steals
Eagle Leaders:
Tory Martin: 15 points, 9 rebounds
Molly Sharman: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Emily Thompson: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Notes:
The Spartans are now 28-27 all-time in the CAC Tournament … York is now 6-17 in the CAC semifinals … the win for York against Mary Washington in the CAC tournament is just their third in 15 tournament match-ups … the championship game appearance for the Spartans is their first since 2013-14 when they defeated CNU for their last conference championship as York beat the Captains 66-53 … the Spartans are now 28-49 all-time against Mary Washington but they were 2-1 this year against the Eagles … York is now 8-5 on the road for the year … Mary Washington outscored York 22-6 in points in the paint but the Spartans held an 18-2 margin in points off turnovers as York made Mary Washington's 16 turnovers hurt … the Spartans shot better than 40% from three for the eighth time this year … York converted over 70% from the free throw line for the 15th time this year … junior Molly Day, who earned her first All-CAC honors earlier this week, reached double figures for the 18th time this year … Day is averaging 21 points per game over her last three games … Day has hit 6-of-9 from three in her last two games … Day was a career-high 8-for-11 from the free throw line … head coach Betsy Witman earned her fifth CAC Coach of the Year award earlier this week and the Spartans have won the CAC title in the last two years in which she received the award (2010-11 and 2013-14).
Up Next
The Spartans head to the conference championship game against the top-seeded Christopher Newport Captains in Newport News, Virginia on Saturday. Tip time from the Freeman Center is set for 4:30 pm as the back end of a CAC Championship doubleheader. The winner of the championship game earns the CAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.