YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team overcame a 19-point third quarter deficit to earn their fifth straight win, a dramatic 74-70 victory over previously unbeaten Elizabethtown in overtime on Monday night in York.
The Spartans have now won five in a row after their season-opening loss to John Hopkins on opening night, 20 days ago.
 
Score: York 74, Elizabethtown 70 in OT
Records: York 5-1, Elizabethtown 5-1
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a great start in the game as Alana Bortner hit a trio of threes in the opening four minutes of the game to give York a 13-6 lead early on. The first quarter featured plenty of offensive fireworks as both teams lit up the scoreboard. The Spartan lead grew to seven on a pair of Savannah Wilson free throws with 5:33 left but the Blue Jays came storming back, tying the game at 20. Wilson got a jumper at the horn to give York a 22-20 lead after ten minutes of play.
• The Green and White went cold in the second quarter as the Blue Jays seized control of the game. Elizabethtown went up by five (32-27) on a Jessica King lay-up with 3:05 left in the half. The Spartans managed to score the four of the final six points of the half as the Blue Jays took a 34-31 lead to the break.
• Elizabethtown came out of the break and hit the Spartans with an 18-2 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter as the lead ballooned to 19 points (52-33) with 3:16 left in the quarter. The Spartans got a Taylor Burda three pointer just over 30 seconds later to stem the tide and end the run. Burda's triple started an 11-3 Spartan spurt to end the half as York went to the fourth trailing by 11 (55-44).
• York continued to chip away and cut the Blue Jay lead to two on a pair of Burda free throws with 4:17 left in regulation. After a King free throw, Kayla Ferris trimmed the lead to one on a pair of free throws at the 3:02 mark. Cyleigh Wilson banged a three to quickly push the lead back to four with just 1:56 remaining in regulation. Ferris hit two more free throws to cut the Spartan deficit in half. After York got a stop, Wilson converted a pair of free throws to tie the game with 52 seconds left. The Spartans got another stop but couldn't convert the game winner on their final possession of regulation.
• After the teams traded early overtime buckets, Cyleigh Wilson hit her fifth three pointer of the game to give Elizabethtown a 65-62 lead. York eventually took a 68-67 lead on a Savannah Wilson bucket with 1:29 left in overtime. Cyleigh Wilson hit her sixth triple, giving the Blue Jays their final lead of the night. Bortner tied the game at 70 when she hit a left-handed lay-up with 53 ticks left on the clock.
• The Spartan defense managed to get another stop. On the ensuing possession Arnold garnered an offensive rebound and finished off the second chance chance with a lay-up, giving York the two-point lead. The Blue Jays had two shots in their next possession but York got another Arnold rebound and she was fouled with eight seconds left. Arnold split the pair of free throws to put York up by three. The Blue Jays put up a quick three pointer that was rebounded by Ferris. The senior was fouled and split the pair to give York the four-point win.
 
Spartan Leaders
Savannah Wilson: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Kayla Ferris: 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals, 1 blocked shot
Cassidy Arnold: 13 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 7-for-8 FT
Alana Bortner: 15 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists
Bradi Zumbrum: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting a sterling 29-for-34 (85.3%) from the free throw line … York outscored the Blue Jays by 21 at the stripe, their largest margin of the year … York shot 57.1% (4-of-7) in overtime but shot just 31.3% from the field in the game … York committed just six turnovers in the second half and overtime while the Blue Jays had 12 miscues after halftime … despite the two teams combining for 35 turnovers, the points off turnovers was low with the Blue Jays holding a 16-13 edge in the category … Elizabethtown held a slight 45-44 edge on the glass and also had a 15-11 lead in second chance points … once the Spartans trailed by 19, they outscored the Blue Jays 41-18 over the final 17:42 of the game … the 22 points in the first quarter was York's third highest scoring quarters of the year … the highest scoring quarter of the year was the 25 points against PSU Abington in the third quarter followed by the 24 points in the first quarter against Abington … the 29 made free throws were a season-high by 10 while the 34 attempts is a season-high by eight attempts … York has been out-rebounded in three of their last four games … York has forced 54 turnovers in their last two games … York has blocked at least two shots in each game this year.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans improve to 9-5 in the all-time series against the Blue Jays as they have won two in a row in the series … senior Kayla Ferris notched her tenth career double-double and the second of her season … junior guard Savannah Wilson led the way with 18 points for the Spartans as she notched her fifth straight game in double figures .... Wilson is averaging 18 points per game over the last three games.
 
Up Next
The Spartans continue their busy week with their first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth contest at Alvernia University. The game against the Golden Wolves is set for a 6:00 pm start in Reading, PA.

Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans