GRANTHAM, PA – The York College women's basketball team had their four-game win streak snapped as Messiah tripped up the Spartans 74-62 in a battle of the last two MAC Commonwealth unbeatens.
The Falcons went on a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the game, turning a tie game into a 12-point win for the hosts.
Messiah improves 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the MAC Commonwealth while the Spartans fall to 9-5 and 3-1 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a really good start as the Green and White pushed out to 12-4 lead over the first 5:10 of the game. York started the game 5-of-8 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three while the Falcons began the game 2-for-7 with a pair of turnovers. The Falcons responded with an 8-2 run over the final 2:08 of the quarter to pull to within two points at 14-12 after ten minutes of play.
• The Spartans scored the first three points of the second quarter but the Falcons responded with a 12-5 spurt to take a 24-22 lead with 2:49 left in the first half. Taylor Burda hit a three pointer with 2:38 left to give the Spartans their final lead of the day at 25-24. Messiah hit the Spartans with a 10-2 run to end the quarter as they took a 34-27 lead to the intermission.
• York open the second half with an 8-2 spurt as the Green and White closed to within one at 36-35 just 2:25 into the third quarter. The Falcons responded with a 12-4 run of their own to push their advantage to 48-39 with 3:45 left in the stanza. York outscored Messiah 10-9 over the final 3:37 of the quarter as Messiah had a 57-49 lead to the break.
• York ripped off an 11-3 run to start the fourth quarter, tying the game at 60 on a Makenna Zimmerman jumper with 6:39 left in the game. Unfortunately for York, Messiah scored the next ten points over a 4:48 to put the game out of reach. Overall, the Falcons ended the game on a 14-2 run to avoid the Spartan upset bid.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 44.6% from the floor including 30.8% (4-for-13) from three … York was dreadful from the free throw line as they went 8-for-22 (36.4%) … Messiah shot 39.7% from the field, 23.8% (5-for-21) from three while the Falcons were deadly at the stripe as they went 19-for-21 (90.5%) … the Falcons made their first 15 free throws of the game before a miss … Messiah held a slight 37-35 advantage in rebounding but had an 18-10 margin in second chance points … the Spartans were again loose with the ball as they had 22 turnovers which led to 21 points for the Falcons … Messiah had a 7-1 bulge in blocked shots … York held a slight 38-32 edge in paint points.
 
Spartan Notes
The Falcons won their fourth straight against York as Messiah leads the all-time series 26-8 … the Spartans 39.7% mark from the stripe is the worst since January 6, 2020 when York was 1-for-3 (33.3%) from the line in 89-61 win at Elizabethtown … that was the game that York was 18-for-29 (62.1%) from three as Haley Luckabaugh poured in 37 points in the win … the Spartans' 44.6% shooting mark was their second-best shooting percentage of the year (48.1% at Susquehanna) … York is now 1-5 when being out-rebounded in a game … York had over 20 turnovers (22) for the sixth straight game … the Spartans placed four players in double figures led by Breana Grim as she poured in 18 points to go with five assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal in her 38 minutes of play … the 18 points were one short of her career high set at Susquehanna … Grim was 9-for-14 from the floor for the Green and White … Makenna Zimmerman added 14 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes … the 14 points tied Zimmerman's career high, a mark first set in the November 15 game at McDaniel … Taylor Burda and Alyssa Hocker added 11 points each … Hocker recorded the double-double with 12 rebounds .. the double-double was her fifth of the campaign … Burda had three steals and two rebounds.
 
Up Next
The Spartans are back in action on Monday as they travel to Penn State Altoona for their final non-conference contest of the year. Tip time from Altoona is set for 6:00 pm. The Spartans are 6-4 in non-conference play while they enter the game with a road record of 6-3.