ANNVILLE, PA – The York College women's basketball team rode a strong defensive performance to earn a 50-47 road victory at Lebanon Valley College in a non-conference game on Monday night.
The Spartans held the Dutchmen to just 15 first half points as they would lead for 33:05 of the 40 minutes of the game.
York improves to 4-3 overall while the Dutchmen fall to 3-4.
 
How It Happened
• The Dutchmen jumped on the Spartans early as they raced out to a 7-3 lead 3:12 into the opening quarter. The Spartans then clamped down on defense as the offense gained some footing. York held LVC scoreless over the final 6:33 of the quarter while the Spartans scored seven straight to take a 10-7 lead at the end of ten minutes of play. Neither team had a good offensive quarter as York was 4-for-16 (25%) from the floor while LVC was 3-for-15 (20%) from the field.
• The Spartan defense continued to hold down the Dutchmen as York began the quarter with five straight points to take a 15-7 lead. Riley Hevelow broke LVC's scoring drought at 10:45 with a jumper at the 6:07 mark of the second quarter. After a Hevelow free throw with 5:09 left on the clock, the Spartans ripped off a 10-2 run that pushed their lead to a game-high of 13 points at 25-12. Kate Fitzpatrick hit a three pointer with seven seconds left to cut York's halftime lead to ten points.
• The Spartans shot just 30% (9-for-30) in the first half while they limited LVC to just 22.2% (6-for-27) shooting in the opening 20 minutes of play. York held a slight 21-20 on the glass. York forced nine turnovers which they turned into 10 first half points.
• The Dutchmen hit York with a quick 9-2 run over the first 2:39 of the second half to cut their deficit to three at 27-24. LVC was 4-for-4 from the field including a three pointer. As quick as Lebanon Valley cut into the Spartan lead, the Green and White answered with a 6-0 spurt as Breana Grim hit a lay-up followed by a Taylor Burda free throw and three on the next possession as the Spartan lead was back at nine. York's run covered a mere 1:08 of game time. The Dutchmen outscored York 8-6 over the final 4:35 of the quarter as the Spartan lead was 39-32 at the end of 30 minutes of play.
• The Dutchmen kicked off the final quarter of regulation by scoring four of the first five points of the stanza. York responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own to push the lead to 45-36. Alyssa Hocker had four points on the run for the Spartans. In a quarter of runs, LVC responded with eight straight points, slicing the Spartan lead to one with 1:48 left in the game. Burda ended the run with her career-high tying fifth three pointer of the game with 48 seconds left, putting York up four. The Dutchmen answered as Kate Fitzpatrick hit a deep triple with the shot clock running down, cutting York's lead to one with 16 seconds left. Hocker was fouled and sank both free throws with 11 seconds left. The Spartan defense then made one final play as Makenna Zimmerman blocked a Hevelow three just before the horn to secure the win for York.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans won the game despite shooting just 27.9% (17-for-61) from the floor while they were 6-for-26 (23.1%) from three while they were a sharp 10-for-13 (76.9%) from the stripe … LVC wasn't much better shooting as they shot 34.4% (21-for-61) from the field including 4-for-21 (19%) from three … the Dutchmen were just 1-for-4 from the line … both teams had 43 rebounds while the Dutchmen had a 9-5 edge in second chance points … York did a great job of taking care of the ball with just nine turnovers while the Dutchmen had 12 miscues … York got 14 points off the LVC turnovers … York assisted on 11 of their 17 field goals.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 11-6 all-time against the Dutchmen as York has won two straight in the series … the game is back to being a non-conference contest after the teams spent the last two years as MAC Commonwealth foes … the Dutchmen moved to the MAC Freedom starting this fall … York has won three of their last four games … York is now 3-1 on the road including three in a row … York has struggled from the field in their last two games as they are a combined 34-for-124 (27.4%) from the floor after shooting a season-best 48.1% in the win over Susquehanna … the Spartans 43 rebounds was their second-highest total of the year … their nine turnovers were a season low, besting their previous best by three (12 vs. Lancaster Bible) … York blocked another three shots as they have 44 for the season … Taylor Burda set a new career-high with 20 points including a career-high tying five three point field goals … Burda also had two rebounds and an assist in the win … senior Alyssa Hocker notched her second double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds as her two free throws late in the game gave York a pair of huge insurance points … Makenna Zimmerman pulled in a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with five points, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals in the win … Zimmerman now has 20 blocked shots for the Spartans in six games.
 
Up Next
The Spartans are now off for fall semester final exams. They return to the court next Wednesday, December 13 when they travel to Penn College to take on the Wildcats in a non-conference contest. Tip time in Williamsport, PA is set for 3:00 pm.

Audio Highlights courtesy of Darrell Henry, the Voice of the Spartans