WESTMINSTER, MD – Sophomore guard April Sparkman (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville) hit a lay up with 1.2 seconds left in regulation to lift the tenth ranked York College Spartans to a dramatic 59-57 road victory at McDaniel College on Thursday evening in Westminster, MD. It is the second time in nine days that Sparkman has hit a game winning shot for the Spartans as she drilled the deciding three-pointer against Mary Washington on February 2 in York.

The win extends the Spartans' school-record win streak to 21 games while it also extends the school-record for wins in a season, as York is now 21-1 for the campaign. The Green Terror falls to 12-10 with the heartbreaking loss.

The game also featured a milestone for Spartan senior Chanel Perez (Biglerville, Pa./Gettysburg), as she became the 12th member of the Spartans' 1,000-career point club with her jumper with 5:57 remaining in the game.

The Spartans built a double-digit lead early in the second half as they looked like they were going to cruise to the win over the pesky Green Terror squad. The Spartan lead was at 11 when Amanda Andrews (Fallston, Md./Fallston) canned a pair of free throws with 12:51 remaining in the game. The Green Terror then blitzed the Spartans with a 13-2 run, tying the game at 43 with 7:26 remaining in regulation.

That's when the fun began. The two teams were never farther than three points apart the remainder of regulation. The Green Terror held three point leads at 48-45 and 50-47 before York was able to take a three-point lead of their own on a Keli Ward (Nottingham, Pa./Oxford) three-point play with 1:14 remaining. Ashley Lyles trimmed the Spartan lead to one on a pair of free throws with 48.9 seconds left. Ward put York back up by three with a 17-foot jump shot with just 23.3 ticks remaining. The Green Terror called a timeout with 18.6 left and then McDaniel tied the game on an Ali Moreland three with just 8.2 seconds showing. The Spartans inbounded the ball and Ward drilled a pass into Sparkman who converted the bucket for the win. Kim Staub's chance to win the game with a half court heave missed the mark left of the rim as the Spartan win streak survived.

Sparkman led the Spartans with 16 points, four rebounds, and two blocked shots in her 35 minutes of action. Ward notched her sixth double-double in her last seven games with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The senior also added seven assists, a block and a steal in her 39 minutes of action. Ward was an efficient 6-for-9 from the floor including 2-of-3 from distance. She also made her only free throw of the night. Perez added nine points on her milestone evening. She also pulled down seven rebounds, blocked two shots, and had two steals for the game. Senior Amy Fry (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) came off the bench to tally eight big points for York.

Lyles led the Green Terror with 18 points off the bench as she also had five rebounds and four blocked shots. Lyles was 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Moreland added 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists for McDaniel while Staub chipped in with 14 points.

The first half saw the Spartans hold the lead the entire stanza. York had a game-high 12-point lead on a Sparkman three with 4:53 left in the first. The Green Terror scored six of the final eight points of the half to cut the Spartan lead to just eight heading into the break.

The Spartans finished the game shooting just 36.9% from the floor and a cool 25% from three. York attempted a season-low six free throws as they canned all of them for the game. McDaniel was not any better from the floor as they converted 36.1% of the attempts from the floor. The Green Terror made just 3-of-13 from three while they went 10-for-11 from the free throw line.
York held a 42-39 edge in the battle of the boards while the Spartans blocked nine shots in the game.  The statistics were very balanced as both teams had 11 points off turnovers while York held a very slight 24-22 advantage in points in the paint.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they travel to Wesley for a big Capital Athletic Conference road game. The Wolverines, which have already knocked off nationally-ranked Mary Washington at home, welcome the Spartans to town for a 2:00 pm conference contest. The Wolverines are 9-1 at home while the Spartans are 10-0 on the road in 2008-09.

GAME BOX