Box Score YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team closed out the 2014-15 regular season by giving the nationally ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls a run for their money before the Gulls pulled away for a 75-69 Capital Athletic Conference victory on Saturday.
The Sea Gulls, who captured the regular season championship last weekend, improve to 23-2 overall and 17-1 in the league. The Sea Gulls entered the game ranked 15th in the WBCA Coaches Poll and 16th in the D3hoops.com poll. The Spartans head into the playoff on a three game losing skid as they finished the regular season 11-14 overall and 7-11 in the conference.
The opening half was a back-and-forth affair as neither team could get any significant offensive traction. The half featured six ties and 12 lead changes. Salisbury's biggest lead was four points at 28-24 with 4:03 left in the half. The Spartans outscored Salisbury 10-4 over the final four minutes of the half to take a 34-32 lead to the break.
The second half was much of the same as neither team could pull away. York went on a quick five point spurt to take a 39-34 lead only to have the Gulls answer right back and tie the game for the eighth time in the game.
York eventually pulled out to a seven-point lead thanks to a 7-2 spurt that gave York a 59-52 lead with 7:01 left in the game. The Sea Gulls answered with an 8-0 run to take a 60-59 lead with 5:07 left. York answered with a 7-0 spurt of their own as the two teams continued to trade punches. With the Spartans up 66-60, the Sea Gulls landed the final haymaker of the game as they fashioned a game-winning 14-0 run that turned their six points deficit into an eight point lead with just 31 seconds left. Morgan Golec (Abingdon, Md./Patterson Mill) drilled a triple with 23 seconds left but it would be too-little-too-late as the Spartans would suffer the six point loss to one of the best teams in the country.
Probable CAC Player of the Year Anna Hackett led the Sea Gulls as the senior guard poured in 18 points, all in the decisive second half, to lead Salisbury. Hackett, who was just 0-for-2 from the floor in the first half, finished the game with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in her 40 minutes of play. Fellow senior standout Sarah Seipp was the other Sea Gull in double figures as she had 14 points. The Spartans made her work, as she was 5-for-20 from the floor including 2-of-12 from three. Seipp grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists without a turnover in her 34 minutes of action. Courtney McManus and Lauren Rothfeld each added nine points to the Salisbury attack.
York was led by the dynamic play of sophomore Sam Hruz (White Marsh, Md./Mercy) as the Spartan forward had a double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, four blocked shots and two steals in 40 minutes of play. She was 5-for-12 from the floor including 2-for-4 from three while she also canned 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Senior Shea Wassel (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) had a memorable senior day as she crossed the 1,000 point plateau for her career. Wassel, who played the first two years of her career at Gwynedd-Mercy, was on fire in the first half as she tossed in 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a 3-for-4 performance from the line. She finished the contest with a game-high 21 points, as she was 9-for-16 from the field and 3-for-6 from the line. Wassel pulled in nine rebounds, blocked one shot and had two steals for YCP.
Salisbury finished the game shooting 40.3% from the floor as they were 27-for-67 including 8-for-28 from three (28.6%). The Sea Gulls weren't great from the line as they went 13-for-21 (61.9%). York shot 43.6% from the field while they were 8-for-22 (36.4%) from three. The Spartans were again ice cold from the free throw line as they went just 13-for-25 (52%). If you take out Hruz's 5-for-6 performance from the stripe, York's percentage plummets to 42% (8-for-19).
Turnovers once again hurt the Spartans, particularly in the second half as York had 11 turnovers, which Salisbury turned into 15 points. Overall, the Spartans committed 19 miscues. Salisbury had 12 turnovers in the win but they didn't hurt as York only got eight points off the mistakes.
The Spartans outrebounded Salisbury 42-39 but the Gulls had 12 offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second chance points.
Prior to the game, the Spartans honored their three seniors as Wassel, Jess Selby (Upper Marlboro, Md./Calverton School) and Kailee Knight (Crofton, Md./South River) were playing their final game at Wolf Gymnasium.
The Green and White return to action on Tuesday night in the opening round of the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference. The Spartans will be the tournament's fifth seed and will travel to either Marymount or Christopher Newport depending on the result from Sunday's Marymount at Frostburg State game. If Marymount wins, York will head to CNU and if Frostburg is victorious, the Spartans head to Marymount on Tuesday. Game time on Tuesday will be 6:00 pm regardless of site.
Sam Hruz photo courtesy of Joe Rodgers
