ALTOONA, PA – The York College women's basketball team rode a big fourth quarter to post a 69-60 non-conference win over Penn State Altoona on Monday night in Altoona.
The Spartans trailed by two at the end of the third quarter but used a 21-10 fourth quarter performance to close out the win.
York improves to 10-5 overall while the Lions fall to 8-7. The game closes out the Spartans non-conference slate as they have ten MAC Commonwealth games remaining in their regular season.
 
How it Happened
• The Spartans got off to a fantastic stat as they sprinted out to a 14-3 lead just 4:12 into the game. Taylor Burda had eight points on the run while Breana Grim added four points. The Lions scored six of the next nine points to draw to within eight with 4:45 remaining in the opening quarter. The Spartans ripped off a 9-0 spurt before the Lions got a three right before the end of the quarter as York held a 26-14 lead after ten minutes of play. York shot 52% from the field in the opening quarter while they forced five Altoona turnovers in the quarter.
• After Makenna Zimmerman opened the quarter with a bucket to put York up by 14, the Lions outscored York 8-2, cutting the Spartan lead to eight. With York up by nine on a Grim free throw, the Lions hit the Spartans with a 10-0 run to close the half and take a 34-33 halftime lead. The Spartans were outscored 20-7 in the quarter as their last field goal came on a Zimmerman bucket with 6:32 left in the quarter.
• The Spartans made some halftime adjustments as York ripped off seven points to open up the half and take a 40-34 lead. The Lions hit a pair of threes around a Zimmerman bucket as the Spartan lead was two midway through the third quarter. Grim hit a lay-up with 4:43 left to put York up four but the Lions proceeded to score ten straight points to take a 50-44 lead. Zimmerman slowed the bleeding with a bucket with 48 seconds left in the quarter.  Zimmerman hit a second straight bucket with one second left in the quarter to draw York to two at 50-48. Altoona had 11 third quarter rebounds which led to seven second chance points.
• The Spartans took control of the game to start the fourth as they smacked the Lions with a 12-2 run capped by an Alyssa Hocker triple with 6:11 left in the game. After Avana Sayles completed an old fashioned three-point play, the Spartans scored five straight to push the lead to ten with 3:21 left.
• The Lions answered York's spurt with a 5-0 run of their own as Jordan Bisignani hit a three and Sayles got a lay-up off a Spartan turnover. The Spartans got a Taylor Brenneman steal and lay-up from Grim to go back up seven with 1:47 remaining. Hocker hit a pair of free throws with 1:03 left to close out the scoring in the game.
 
By the Numbers
York finished the game shooting 38.8% from the field including 7-for-29 from three … the Spartans were a stellar 10-for-12 (83.3%) from the charity stripe … York was 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter …  Altoona was 22-for-68 (32.4%) from the floor, 34.8% (8-for-23) from three and 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the free throw line … the Lions did a number on the Spartans in the rebounding department as they held a 47-41 advantage on the glass … the Spartans made that total closer in the fourth as they held a 12-7 margin on the glass in the final 10 minutes of play … York had just 11 turnovers while the Lions had 16 miscues … York scored 21 points off the Lions' turnovers … York had a 32-14 margin in paint points … Altoona had a 20-9 edge in second-chance points … York's largest lead was 15 at 26-11 with 30 seconds left in the second quarter while Altoona's biggest lead was six at 50-44 … York led for 80.8% of the game (32:18).
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting was the first between the two teams as they will square off in York next year … York finished their non-conference schedule with a mark of 7-4 … York outscored Altoona by a combined total of 47-24 in the first and fourth quarters while Altoona had a 36-22 edge in quarters two and three … the Spartans bounced back from a tough day at the line against Messiah as they shot over 80% for the fourth time this year … the Spartans did a great job of taking care of the ball as they committed just 11 turnovers, their third lowest total of the year and just the first time in seven games they have been below 20 miscues in a contest … York won for this the second time in seven games in which they have been out-rebounded … after winning the battle on the glass in three straight games, they have now been out-rebounded in their last three contests … York has won five of their last six games … senior Alyssa Hocker poured in a career-high 20 points while she narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds … Hocker was 4-for-10 from three and 4-for-4 at the line while she also had two steals and two assists … sophomore Makenna Zimmerman had her second big game in a row as she set a new career-high with 17 points to go along with six rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist … junior Taylor Burda, playing in front of a number of hometown fans from the Johnstown area, added 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot … the five assists for Burda set a new career high … Breana Grim was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 11 points while she added four rebounds, six assists, four steals and a blocked shot in 31 minutes of play … Georgia Panopoulos added nine points, three rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot in her 20 minutes of action … Brooklyn Naylor didn't score in the game but had a big impact with eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots for York … the win closes out York's four-game road trip as the Spartans have played eight of their last nine games on the road.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return home for the first time since January 3 and just the third time since December 2 on Wednesday night when they host Albright College in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Tip time in York is set for 6:00 pm.

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