BRONX, N.Y. – The York College women's basketball came off their holiday break rolling as the Spartans rolled past Alvernia University 90-33 in the opening round of the SUNY Coaches vs. Cancer Classic hosted by Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y. The win advances the Spartans to the tournament championship game on Friday afternoon.

RECORDS

Alvernia: 0-11

York (Pa.): 7-3

TEAM STATS

FG Shooting (%): York 37-for-66 (56.1%), Alvernia 9-for-54 (16.7%)

Three Point Shooting (%): York 6-for-21 (28.6%), Alvernia 2-for-17 (11.8%)

Free Throw Shooting (%): York 10-for-15 (66.7%), Alvernia 13-for-21 (61.9%)

Rebounding: York 41, Alvernia 41

Assists: York 20, Alvernia 4

Turnovers: York 7, Alvernia 25

Blocked Shots: York 4, Alvernia 1

Steals: York 11, Alvernia 3

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The Spartans got off to a great start in their first game since the December 14 win over Wesley. York sprinted out to a 10-3 lead just over five minutes into the game. After the Crusaders got an Abbie Zerbe jumper with 3:54 left in the first quarter, York finished the quarter on an 8-0 run. The run was fueled by Katie McGowan and Sam Mocniak as they each scored four points during the spurt.

• York kept the run going to start the second quarter as they scored the first two buckets of the period to push out to a 22-5 lead 1:32 into the quarter. Alvernia scored six of the next 11 points of the game but York responded with five straight points from Morgan Kuehne as the Spartan advantage grew to 31-11 with 4:50 left before the half. The Spartans hit the Crusaders with another quick 9-2 run, increasing the lead to 40-14. York would settle for the 43-19 lead at the break.

• York continued to build the lead in the third quarter. The Spartans came out of the break to rip off six straight points, pushing the lead to 30 at 49-19 just under two minutes into the third quarter. The Crusaders scored four straight points midway through the quarter but York responded with 16 straight points as the lead ballooned to 65-23 with 36 seconds left in the third period.

• The Green and White kept rolling to start the fourth as they scored the first ten points of the quarter to increase the lead to 77-24 with 5:18 left in the game. After a Maya Cooper free throw, York scored another six straight points as the lead stood at 83-25. The Spartans would finish the game with 90 points for the third time this season.

SPARTAN LEADERS

Morgan Kuehne: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal

Katie Wagner: 13 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals

Sam Mocniak: 12 points, 1 steal, 2-for-5 from three

Katie McGowan: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals

Sam Hruz: 5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal

CRUSADER LEADERS

Maya Cooper: 15 points, 1 assist, 1 steal

Torie Zerbe: 4 points, 9 rebounds

Miranda Hoover: 3 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

GAME NOTES

The Spartans are now 6-2 all-time against the Crusaders as they have won four straight in the series … The Spartans played all 14 healthy players in the win with 13 players reaching the scoring column … The Spartans' 90 points marks the third time this year that the Green and White have reached at least 90 points with the other two games being the 94-55 win over Pitt-Greensburg and the 90-50 victory at Goucher … the Spartans now have three wins of 30 points or more and the 57 point margin of victory is the largest of the year for York … York placed four players in double figures and that this the third time this year that the Spartans have had three or more players reach double figures in a game … sophomore Katie McGowan established a new career-high with six assists while she also had 12 points, two short of her career high of 14 against Wesley … McGowan has scored 26 points in her last two games … York has now outscored nine of their 10 opponents in the first quarter and that trend continued Thursday as York outscored Alvernia 18-5 … the Spartans dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Crusaders 22-5 … York is now 7-0 when leading at the half … York shot a season-best 56.1% from the floor … it is just the second time this year that the Spartans have been above 50% from the floor … York had a season-low seven turnovers in the win … York's previous low for turnovers was 12 in the Coaches vs. Cancer championship game loss to Eastern … The Spartans entered the game averaging 23.3 turnovers per game in their last three appearances … junior Beth Patrick blocked a career-high two shots in her six minutes of work in the win … Alvernia's 33 points were the fewest points allowed for the Spartans in 2016-17 season and is the lowest total against since allowing 30 in the 64-30 win over Newbury on November 21, 2015 in the opening round of last year's YCP Coaches vs. Cancer Classic … York advances to their second tournament championship game of the year with the win over Alvernia … York scored 29 points off the 25 Alvernia turnovers … York outscored Alvernia 20-2 in fast break points … the Spartan bench outscored their Alvernia counterparts 48-4 … York's largest lead was 59 with 39 seconds remaining in regulation … York led for 39:55 of the game.

PREVIOUS FIVE RESULTS VS. ALVERNIA

Jan. 14, 2008, Win @ YCP, 76-57

Jan. 15, 2007, Win @ Alvernia, 79-73

Dec. 3, 2005, Win @ YCP, 83-66

Nov. 29, 2004, Loss @ Alvernia, 77-71

Dec. 1, 2003, Win @ YCP, 86-75

UP NEXT

The Spartans return to action on Friday as they will face the undefeated SUNY Poly Wildcats in the CUNY Coaches vs. Cancer Classic championship game. Tip time from the Bronx, N.Y. is set for 4:00 pm. Alvernia will play in the consolation game tipping off at 2:00 pm.

Morgan Kuehne photo courtesy of David Sinclair Photography