CHESTER, PA – Widener's Brooke Bechtle hit a three pointer from the corner with 2.2 seconds left to lift the Pride to a 59-57 win over York College in the semifinal round of the 2022 MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The shot allowed the Pride to advance to the championship game where they will face top seeded Messiah on Sunday.
The three pointer came after York had erased an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to take a one point lead with 44 seconds left.
 
Score: #3 York 57, #2 Widener 59
Records: #3 York 20-6, #2 Widener 19-6
 
How it Happened
• The Spartans got off to a great start with an Alana Bortner three for the first bucket of the game. The Spartans would build a a six-point lead at 11-5 before the Pride trimmed the York lead to 13-11 heading to the seconds quarter.
• Widener had a big second quarter as they erased the Spartan lead and took a 19-16 lead with 6:25 left in the half. The Spartans kept the Pride from running away from them as the Widener lead bounced between one and five points until late in the half. The Pride got a pair of Brooke Betchle free throws with 16 seconds left to take a seven-point lead, however senior Kayla Ferris answered with an offensive rebound and put back as the Spartans trailed 31-26 at the break.
• The Pride got a Nicole Barnes three pointer to open the third quarter as the lead grew to eigh. The Spartans answered by ripped off five straight points, trimming their deficit to three. The lead bounced between three and five points over the next seven minutes until the Pride scored the final five points of the half to take a 45-37 lead to the fourth.
• Widener threw a big haymaker to start the fourth as Mary McFillin drained a three pointer four seconds into the fourth to push the Widener lead to a game-high 11 points.  Bradi Zumbrum hit back-to-back layups but McFillin struck again at the 8:40 mark to put the Pride up 10. Widener's lead would again be 10 at 54-44 with 6:22 left in the game when the Spartans started their comeback. Ferris kick started a 12-2 run that tied the game at 56 with 1:18 left. The senior also capped the run with a three pointer as the Spartans climbed all the way back.
• The Spartans got a stop on a steal from Alyssa Hocker with 1:02 left in the game. Ferris was fouled with 44 seconds left. She missed the first free throw but converted the second to put York up 57-56. The Pride called timeout with 16 seconds left. They missed their ensuing jumper from Jordan D'Ambrosio but Bachtle got the offensive rebound. McFillin missed the second chance three and Ferris looked like she had the rebound but was tied up by McFillin. After extensive deliberation with the table, it was determined the possession arrow was in favor of the Pride. Widener made it hurt as they survived having Zumbrum get a hand on the inbounds pass only to have Bachtle catch it in rhythm and sink the game winner.
• After a timeout, York tried to get Ferris the ball in the lane for the game tying shot but the Widener defense swarmed her and she was unable to get a shot off before the horn.
 
SPARTAN LEADERS
Kayla Ferris: 20 points, 6 rebounds, four assists, 3 steals
Bradi Zumbrum: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals
Cassidy Arnold: 4 points, 8 rebounds
 
SPARTAN STATS
The Spartan defense was outstanding in the game as they forced 23 turnovers, Widener's second highest total since they had 25 in their third game of the year against Rowan … York couldn't make the turnovers hurt as they scored just 15 points off the 23 miscues … York did get nine points off turnovers during the key run in the fourth quarter … Widener's 59 points were the Pride's third lowest offensive output of the year … Widener entered the game leading the Commonwealth in scoring at 69 points per game as York held them 12 points below their season average … York shot just 37.5% from the floor for the game including going just 3-for-15 from three … conversely, the Pride went 9-for-24 from three (37.5%) … York attempted 64 shots while Widener had 48 total shots in the game … York outscored Widener 26-12 in points in the paint … York also held a 19-9 margin in second chance points as both teams collected 32 rebounds … the Widener bench outscored their York counterparts 24-5 … York had just players score in the game … Mary McFillin led the Pride with 16 points off the bench while Jordan D'Ambrosio added 13 points.
 
SPARTAN NOTES
York is now 1-3 all-time against Widener as the Pride won two of three this season against the Spartans … the loss was the first road loss of the year for York as they had won their previous ten road games in 2021-22 … the Spartans and Pride finished with identical league records of 13-3 but Widener got two of their wins via the MAC forfeit policy including one win over Albright which ultimately gave the Pride the semifinal home game via the tiebreaker … senior Kayla Ferris finished her fantastic Spartan career with 1,049 points to rank 17^th on the all-time scoring list … Ferris also finishes her career 14^th in field goals made (417), seventh in field goal percentage (.467), 15^th in three point field goals made (77), 12^th  in rebounding (665), 14^th in rebounds per game (6.3 rpg), fourth in total assists (333), ninth in assists per game (3.1 apg), fourth in steals (280), and sixth in steals per game (2.6 spg) … junior Bradi Zumbrum tied a career high with five steals while her 18 points were her second-highest total of the year … the game was likely the final contest in the Green and White for Ferris, Alana Bortner, Meghan Carlson and Briaunna Embrey-Banks as they closed out their Spartan careers with a 20 win season.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now wait to see if their slim NCAA Tournament hope earns them a spot in the big tournament. York was eighth in the last regional rankings and will need the favorites to win and get some breaks around the country. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday, February 28 at 2:30 pm.