YORK, PA – The nationally ranked University of Mary Washington Eagles remained perfect in the Capital Athletic Conference as they downed the York College Spartan women's basketball team 63-51 in a league contest on Saturday afternoon in York. The Eagles, who are ranked 24^th in the nation, improve to 18-3 overall and 13-0 in the CAC while the Spartans, who are battling for a spot in the CAC Tournament, fall to 9-13 overall and 5-8 in the CAC.

The loss ruined Senior Day for the Spartans as guard Jamie Polan (York, Pa./West York) was honored as York's lone senior prior to the contest.

The game was far from a work of art as neither team was particularly sharp in any aspect of play. The game started with a technical foul on the Eagles as April Sparkman (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville) split a pair of free throws without a second having ticked off the clock.

The Spartans took the early lead before the Eagles ran off eight straight points to take a lead they would not surrender the rest of the way. Mary Washington's lead grew to as many as 12 at 25-13 with 3:39 left in the opening stanza. York scored the next five points before the Eagles picked up the final three points of the half to take a 28-19 lead to the break.

The Spartans cut the Eagle led to five just over four minutes into the half as the Eagles didn't score in the first 4:47 of the second stanza. The Eagles quickly increased their advantage into double figures before the Spartans made one final push midway through the half, cutting the Eagle lead to six twice. After Jaimie Sapp (Bluemont, Va/Loudon Valley) hit a basket  to cut the lead to 40-34, Mary Washington went on an 11-2 run to take any drama out of the final seven minutes of the game.

Mary Washington increased the lead to 19 before the Spartans ended the game scoring 11 of the final 15 points of the game to provide for the final margin.

Jenna McRae led the Eagles with 17 points in 27 minutes of action. McRae was 4-for-10 from the floor and an impressive 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Katie Wimmer added seven points, six rebounds, and four rebounds while Carol Dye and Claire Brooks each pulled down 10 rebounds in the win. Kate Carlezon picked up nine points in just 10 minutes of action.

Sparkman led the Spartans with a double-double as she recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds. Sparkman was 5-for-12 from the floor, 1-for-4 from three, and 7-for-11 from the free throw line. Sapp was the other Spartan in double figures with 12 points while she also had eight rebounds.

The Eagles shot 33.8% from floor for the game while York made just 31.4% of their attempts from the field. The Spartans shot a brutal 18.5% in the first half as they scored just 19 points in the opening stanza. Neither team was good from three as York went 5-for-15 (33%) while Mary Washington went just 2-for-9 (22.2%). The Eagles converted 17-of-23 (73.9%) from the stripe while York went 14-for-22 (63.3%).

The Eagles outrebounded York 44-43 in the game while Mary Washington forced 22 Spartan miscues.

The Spartans now take to the road for their final three games of the year. Each game will be critical in determining whether the Spartans finish in the top six of the CAC and earn a spot in the post-season tournament. Currently, York sits half a game out of the final playoff slot, which is held by Gallaudet. The Spartans travel to the Bison on Monday afternoon when they face Gallaudet in critical 4:30 pm game. York then travels to Stevenson on Wednesday followed by a game at St. Mary's next Saturday.

Jamie Polan photo courtesy of Zach Clabaugh (www.sharpedgephoto.smugmug.com)