WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The York College women's basketball team captured their four straight road win with a 68-40 win at Penn College on Wednesday in Williamsport, PA.
The Spartans got off to a sluggish start after being off since December 4 but carried the play the rest of the day to cruise to the win.
York improves to 5-3 overall while the Wildcats are now 3-9.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a very sluggish start as the Wildcats jumped out to an 11-3 lead midway through the opening quarter. The Spartans steadied the ship as they finished the opening stanza on a 7-2 run. Taylor Burda tallied five points on the run, cutting the Spartan deficit to 13-10 at the end of 10 minutes of play. York shot a chilly 23.1% (3-for-13) from the floor but fortunately, the Spartan defense held Penn to 5-for-14 shooting to keep the deficit at only three.
• The Wildcats opened the second quarter by scoring four of the first six points of the period to take a 17-12 lead with 8:46 left in the half. That's when the Spartans exploded. The Green and White slapped the Wildcats with a game-changing 22-3 run, turning a five-point deficit into a 14-point halftime lead. The Spartans had eight different players score on the run led by Carey Smith and Shealyn Ricks as they each had four points. York was 9-for-16 from the floor during the run including 2-for-2 from three and 2-for-2 from the line. They also forced six turnovers which they turned into 11 points.
• The Spartans kept up the defensive pressure in the third quarter, outscoring their hosts 15-5 to push their lead to 49-25. York limited Penn to just 2-of-15 shooting from the floor including 0-for-4 from three. The five points was the lowest scoring quarter for any Spartan opponent this year.
• The fourth quarter was the most offensive of the game as York outscored the Wildcats 19-15 to close out the win. York built the lead to 32 on a Kaila Fitzpatrick three before the Green and White settled for a 28-point win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 41.3% (26-for-63) from the floor, 41.3% (7-for-17) from three and 9-for-14 (64.3%) from the stripe … Penn concluded the contest shooting 28.6% (14-for-49) from the field, 20% (3-for-15) from distance and 56.3% (9-for-16) from the line … York held a 38-32 advantage in rebounding which led to an 11-6 margin in second chance points … York dished out 16 assists and committed just 11 turnovers in the victory … the Spartans had 11 steals and forced 19 Penn turnovers … York had a season-high 30 points off turnovers in the win … the Spartan had a 34-15 lead in points off the bench thanks to a great performance from the bench bunch in the game … York had a 30-20 bulge in paint points.
 
Spartan Notes
Todays' game was the first meeting between the two programs … York is now 2-0 this year against United East teams having beaten Lancaster Bible on the road earlier this year … York is 4-1 on the road as they have now won four straight away from the friendly confines of Wolf Gymnasium … the Spartans had a season-high 11 players score in the victory as all 16 Spartans who dressed played at least five minutes in the game … the 24 point second quarter was York's second-highest quarter of the year, seven off the mark of 31 which came in the third quarter of the season-opener against Juniata … York held the Wildcats to five points in the third and seven points in the second and that's the second time this year York has held an opponent to two single digit quarters (at LVC, seven points in the first quarter and nine points in the fourth) … the Spartan defense has surrendered single digits in points in four of their last eight quarters of play … York has six quarters for the season in which they limited opponents to single digits in scoring … the 28-point win matches a season-high which York had in the season opener versus Juniata (70-42) … the 40 points allowed were a season-low for the Spartan defense … York is now allowing just 54.3 points per game … York won the battle on the glass for the fourth time this year and are now 4-0 in those games … the Spartans' 11 steals were the fifth time this year they have reached double figures in a game … Breana Grim led the way with 11 points, two rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and one steal in 19 minutes of play … Makenna Zimmerman added nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot … Taylor Burda chipped in with eight points, four rebounds, and a steal in just 13 minutes of play … Shealyn Ricks, Carey Smith, and Kaila Fitzpatrick all contributed six points off the bench for York … sophomore Rosalynn Diehl had a career high five points … Burda, Alyssa Hocker and Ricks led York on the glass with four caroms each … York had 15 players grab at least one rebound in the victory.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head to Roanoke College to participate in the Susan Dunagan Holiday Classic on Friday, December 29 and Saturday, December 30. The Spartans face off against the host Maroons on Friday at 5:00 pm. They then take on Hollins on Saturday at 5:00. The tournament will close out the 2023 portion of the Spartan schedule. The Green and White return to York on January 3 when they open MAC Commonwealth play against Alvernia University.