YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team suffered a 52-39 MAC Commonwealth loss to Messiah University on Saturday in York. The loss put a damper on the Spartan senior day festivities as York honored their three seniors before the game.
The Falcons turned a 32-27 third quarter lead into a 13-point win as they outscored York 20-12 in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons improve to 19-4 overall and 11-1 in the MAC Commonwealth as they have secured a spot in the upcoming conference tournament. The Spartans fall to 14-9 overall and 7-5 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• The opening quarter was void of any offensive fireworks as the teams combined to score just 15 points in the opening ten minutes of play. Much of the lack of offense should be credited to a pair good defensive teams squaring off.
• The Spartans led 8-3 with 2:45 left in the first quarter but the Falcons scored the final four points of the stanza as York led 8-7.
• The Falcons kicked off the second quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 15-10 lead just under two minutes into the period. Makenna Zimmerman hit a jumper to draw York to within two at 15-12 but both teams went cold as there were just three points scored, all Falcon free throws, over the next five minutes of play. Brooklyn Naylor ended the first half scoring with a bucket with 51 seconds left in the half as the Falcons took an 18-14 lead to the break.
• Messiah came out of the intermission and went on a 10-3 run to forge out to a 28-17 lead midway through the third quarter. The Spartans had their best offensive stretch over the next four minutes as they hit Messiah with a 10-1 run to draw to within two at 29-27. Unfortunately for York, Reese Harden completed a traditional three point play as Messiah took a 32-27 lead to the start of the fourth quarter.
• The Spartans started the fourth quarter with buckets from Bailey Springer and Georgia Panopoulos to slice the Messiah lead to one at 32-31 with 7:44 left in the game. The Falcons then fashioned a 16-4 run the covered 5:31 of game time, turning the one-point Falcon lead into a 13-point bulge. Messiah was 7-for-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line during the run while the Spartans went 2-for-7 from the field including 0-for-2 from three. The Spartans committed three turnovers during the Falcon run.
• Both teams scored four points each over the final 1:23 as the Falcons earned the sweep of the Spartans in the regular season.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 27.8% from the floor including 3-of-15 (20%) from three … the Spartans nailed 6-of-8 (75%) from the free throw line … the Falcons shot 34.5% (19-for-55) from the field including 4-for-10 (40%) from three and 66.7% (10-for-15) from the free throw line … the Spartans out-rebounded the Falcons 43-37 and the Spartans also had a 12-8 margin in offensive rebounds … York had an 8-7 advantage in second chance points … the Spartans turned the ball over 20 times while Messiah committed 14 miscues … Messiah turned the Spartan turnovers into 20 points while York had 12 points off the Falcon turnovers … Messiah had a slight 22-20 advantage in paint points … Messiah had 11 steals in the win … Messiah led for 72.8% (29:07) of the game and their largest lead was the final 13-point margin.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have lost five straight to the Falcons as Messiah swept the season series … Messiah owns a 27-8 lead in the all-time series … the Falcons held the Spartans to a season-low 39 points while their 15 made field goals are also their lowest total of the year … Messiah's 52 points are their third lowest in MAC Commonwealth play this year … after a stretch of four wins in five games the Spartans have dropped three of their last four … York dropped their first game in which they won the battle on the glass as the Spartans are now 10-1 when having more rebounds than their opponents … for the first time this year, the Spartans failed to get a player in double figures as senior Alyssa Hocker led the way with seven points, seven rebounds, and two assists … Georgia Panopoulos and Makenna Zimmerman each had eight points and four rebounds … the Spartans honored their three seniors, Hocker, Bailey Springer, and Brooklyn Naylor, prior to the game for their contributions to the program.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to Wolf Gymnasium on Tuesday night as they will host Widener in a key Commonwealth contest. Tip time is set for 6:00 pm.

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