YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team dropped a 52-45 setback against Neumann University on Saturday afternoon in York. The game was York's first since November 21 and the rust showed as the Spartans got off to a very slow start in the first half.
The Knights outscored the Spartans 18-4 in the second quarter and York never recovered.
Neumann improves to 6-3 overall while the Spartans fall to 3-3. The loss snaps the Spartans' modest two-game win streak.
 
How It Happened
• The first quarter was extremely offensively challenged for both clubs. The Spartans had a 6-2 lead just under six minutes into the game. The Spartans then went scoreless over the final 4:11 of the quarter. The Knights scored the final four points of the quarter as the teams were tied at six after 10 minutes of play.
• The second quarter was a house of horrors for the Green and White as they were outscored 18-4 in the period. The Knights hit the Spartans with a 16-2 run as they took a 22-8 lead with 1:56 left in the half. The teams each scored a bucket in the final 1:28 of the quarter as the Knights took a 24-10 lead to the intermission. The Spartans shot a paltry 16.1% in the opening half while the Knights out-rebounded the Spartans 24-19.
• The Knights pushed the lead to 17 on a Terea Hunt lay-up with 7:29 left in the quarter. That bulge would be the biggest of the game for Neumann. York answered with a 12-3 run that covered 4:28, cutting the Spartan deficit to 32-24. Breana Grim led the way during the run with eight points. The Knights scored four of the final six points of the quarter as they took a 36-26 lead to the fourth.
• York began the quarter playing with a sense of urgency as they hit the Knights with a 10-2 run, slicing the Neumann lead to just two at 38-36. The Knights responded with a quick 6-0 run, pushing the lead back to eight with 3:16 left. Senior Alyssa Hocker scored five of the next seven points in the game as York trailed by five at 46-41 with 2:23 remaining on the clock. Neumann scored six of the next eight points to put the game away as the lead grew back to nine. Taylor Burda hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left to provide for the Knights' final margin of victory.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans shot just 27% from the floor as they were 17-for-63 for the game … York went 3-for-15 from three and 8-for-9 from the stripe … Neumann wasn't great from the floor either as they shot 33.3% from the field including 3-for-19 from three and 11-for-16 from the line … Neumann out-rebounded the Spartans 48-39 … York collected 14 steals in the loss which allowed the Spartans to score 22 points off the Neumann turnovers … the teams combined for 40 turnovers (York 17, Neumann 23) … York blocked another seven shots in the game as they now have 41 for the year.
 
Spartan Notes
York is now 1-1 all time against the Knights … the game is the first between the two programs since November 16, 2001 when the Spartans notched a 76-40 win in the opening round of the White Rose City Classic … Breana Grim was the lone Spartan in double figures with 10 points while she also had four steals, two assists, and one rebound in 37 minutes … freshman Shealyn Ricks came off the bench in the fourth quarter to hit a pair of huge shots for a career-high four points in her nine minutes of action as York was making their comeback … Taylor Burda and Alyssa Hocker each had nine rebounds to lead York … Burda added seven points and one assist while Hocker chipped in with five points and two steals … Makenna Zimmerman had eight points and eight rebounds … Brooklyn Naylor set a new career-high with five blocked shots … York has been outscored 93-79 in the second quarter this year while they have managed to hold a 119-79 edge in the third quarter scoring … York has lost the rebounding battle in all three of their losses while they have managed to collect more rebounds in all three of their wins … York had a season-low nine assists in the game … York's 17 field goals were a season-low as were their 45 points scored … neither team was great from distance as they both made just a trio of triples … York has allowed their opponents more free throws in every game this year as the Knights shot 16 while York only had nine attempts at the stripe … York had 14 steals in the game, their second highest total of the year (15 vs. Juniata).
 
Up Next
The Spartans have a quick turn-around as they will face off against Lebanon Valley in a non-conference contest on Monday evening in Annville, PA. Tip-off is set for 6:30 pm.