Balanced Spartans Advance to the CAC Championship Game
YORK, PA-The York College
women’s basketball team entered Thursday’s Capital
Athletic Conference semifinals a team that posted the greatest
regular season in the history of the program. If Thursday’s
72-53 victory over Wesley College is any indication of their
post-season hopes, things are looking very bright for the Green and
White.
The Spartans rolled to their 25th consecutive
win as they advanced to the CAC championship game for just
the second time in school history. York will host the third seeded
Mary Washington Eagles, a 77-70 victor over second-seeded
Marymount, in the title game on Saturday at 2:00 pm in York.
The Spartans are ranked fifth in the nation
according to the WBCA USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll
and eighth in the d3hoops.com Top 25.
The Spartans, who had not played since last
Saturday, were a little rusty early on as the Wolverines led 14-10
just over seven minutes into the game. York then embarked on a 15-3
run that covered six minutes. It was a spurt fueled by senior
Chanel Perez (Biglerville, Pa./Gettysburg) as she
scored five points during the run. That gave the Spartans a 25-17
margin with 6:08 remaining in the half. The Wolverines trimmed the
Spartan lead to five three times in the next three minutes but York
went on a quick 7-2 run to end the half up 13 at 39-26.
The Spartans extended their half-ending run
with a 10-2 dash that upped the Spartan lead to 49-28 only 3:40
into the half. Senior point guard Keli Ward (Nottingham,
Pa./Oxford) ignited the run with four straight points
after only scoring one point in the first half. The Spartans margin
grew to a game-high 30 on a Ward lay up with 9:10 remaining
in the game. The Spartans scored just six points the rest of the
way but the Spartan advantage was far too great for the Wolverines
to overcome.
Sophomore Jaimie Sapp (Bluemont,
Va./Loudon Valley) had a career night as the sophomore
post player had a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the
floor including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from the line. Sapp added
three rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals. Fellow sophomore
April Sparkman (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville)
added 16 points on a very efficient 6-of-9 performance from the
floor including a pair of threes and two free throws. Sparkman
added six rebounds and three blocked shots as she harassed Wesley
point guard Cory Boyd into 5-for-17 shooting from the floor. Perez
contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, and three steals in one of
her most balanced performances of the year. Ward, the
Spartans’ Jostens Trophy finalist, nearly had a third career
triple double as she had 13 points, nine assists, and eight
rebounds. Ward, who has a team-high 14 double-doubles in 2008-09,
added two steals and a blocked shot as she tallied 12 of her 13
points in the second half.
The Spartans shot 48.2% from the floor for the
game while they converted 4-for-6 from three and a blistering
14-for-16 (87.5%) from the free throw line.
Wesley received a game-high 20 points from
Colleen Thomas as the junior forward was 7-for-11 from the floor
including 4-for-6 from three and 2-for-2 from the line. Boyd was
the other Wolverine in double figures with 13 hard-earned points.
Boyd, who is second to Ward in assists in the CAC, handed out seven
helpers and had three turnovers in her 38 minutes of action. Angie
Owens, the Wolverines dangerous forward, was held in check, partly
by the Spartans and partly by foul trouble. Owens finished the game
with eight points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
The Spartans held the Wolverines to
33.9% shooting for the game. It is the 24th time this season
the Spartans have held a team below 45% shooting and the 16th time
they have held an opponent below 35% shooting from the field. The
Wolverines did connect from distance as they were 8-for-20 from
distance in the game, good for a 40% mark from three. Wesley went
5-for-8 from the free throw line for the contest.
The Wolverines handled York on the glass as
they outrebounded the hosts 37-34 including a whopping 17 offensive
rebounds. Those offensive boards led to only nine second chance
points. The Spartan defense forced 17 turnovers which York
converted into 24 points. Conversely, the Spartans’ 12
miscues became just four Wesley points.
Saturday’s championship game against the
Eagles will tip at 2:00 pm with doors at the Grumbacher Center
opening at 1:00 pm. Admission, as determined by the Capital
Athletic Conference, is $7.00 for all adults and $3.00 for
students. All York College students will be admitted free courtesy
of York College with a valid ID.
Jaimie Sapp photo courtesy of Steve Doemland (www.stevedoemland.com)