YORK, PA - The York College women's basketball squad dropped a 67-54 decision to Catholic University in the second round of the 15th Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in York. The tournament was played as a classic tournament this year. Catholic went 2-0 while Stevens and Moravian went 1-1. The Spartans went 0-2 on the weekend for the first time in tournament history. 
The Spartans are now 0-3 on the year while Catholic improves to 3-0. The Cardinals were receiving votes in the d3hoops.com preseason poll. 
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a slow start as the Cardinals sprinted out to an 14-2 lead with two minutes left in the quarter. The Spartans stopped a run with a pair of Savannah Wilson free throws. The teams traded baskets over the final two minutes of the quarter as Catholic took a 16-6 lead after ten minutes of play. York went a chilly 2-for-12 from the field and 0-for-4 from three. The Cardinals converted 6-of-16 from the field and 2-for-10 from three.  
• The Spartans got a three pointer from Tori Geitner to start the quarter but the Spartans continued to struggle to score. Fortunately for York, their defense was good as they held Catholic scoreless over the first 3:51 of the quarter. That streak was halted with an Anna Scoblick bucket. After a stop, the Cardinals got a corner three from Amelia Baldo to take a 21-9 lead. The Spartans scored the next five thanks to a Taylor Burda three and a Bradi Zumbrum lay up, cutting the lead to 21-14.
• The Spartans cut the Catholic lead to six on a Wilson three with 1:21 left but the Cardinals scored four straight to push their advantage back to ten. Zumbrum hit a lay-up to cut the Spartan halftime lead to 30-22. York was better from the floor as they went 6-for-13 floor including 4-for-6 from three. The Spartans dominated on the glass in the quarter, holding a 11-6 margin in rebounding.
• The third quarter was back and forth early before the Cardinals got a Baldo jumper followed by a triple from Erin Doherty to take a 41-27 lead with 4:48 left in the period. The Cardinals pushed the lead to as many as 16 at 48-32 but Burda hit a third three from the top of the arc to trim the Spartan deficit to 13 heading to the fourth quarter.
• The Spartans chipped away at the lead and drew to within seven at 48-41 on a Rosalynn Diehl triple with 7:47 left in the game. The Cardinals then sealed the game with a 10-2 run to take 15 point lead with 5:32 left in the game. Catholic would build the lead to as many as 18 at 66-48 with 1:17 left in the game. York scored six of the final seven points of the game to provide for Catholic's 13-point margin of victory.   
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans shot a season best 47.6% from behind the arc as they went 10-for-21 from distance … York converted more threes in the game than they had in their previous two games (8) … while the Spartans were good from distance, they continue to struggle from the floor as they went just 18-for-52 (34.6%) from the floor … that percentage is narrowly their best of the year … York struggled from the stripe, making just 8-of-14 from the line while the Cardinals went 11-for-13 from the line including 5-for-6 in the fourth quarter … the Cardinals finished with a 42-39 edge in rebounds … York's 17 turnovers led to 15 Catholic points … Catholic got 19 points off their bench while York had just seven … the Spartans had a season-high 14 assists.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 30-12 all-time against the Cardinals but Catholic has won two straight in the series … the last team the squads met prior to Sunday was November 16, 2019 when the Cardinals won the 13^th Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic with a 76-71 win in York … senior forward Bradi Zumbrum was the Spartans All-Tournament team representative as she tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, a blocked shot and two assists in the game as she played all but 20 seconds in the game … sophomore guard Taylor Burda poured in a career-high 17 points in the game as she went 5-for-10 from three and 6-for-14 overall … Burda also had a career-high seven rebounds in the game … senior guard Tori Geitner tallied a new career high with her ten points … Geitner also pulled in a career-high seven rebounds and notched three steals in the game … the Spartans are now 21-9 all-time in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday night when they host McDaniel College in their annual November showdown. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 6:00 pm.