READING, PA – Albright's Julia Zakovitch sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to lift Albright College to a 67-66 win over York College in MAC Commonwealth action on Wednesday night in Reading.
After Zakovitch's free throws, the Lions had a pair of fouls to give late. They fouled twice, slicing the time to 4.6 seconds left. The ensuing Spartan inbounds got batted away and the Spartans never got a shot off to attempt to win the game.
The Spartans have now lost two straight as they fall to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference. The Lions improve to 8-7 overall while they climb to 2-3 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans found themselves down early as the Lions jumped out to an 8-4 lead. York tied the game at eight on back-to-back Taylor Brenneman buckets. The Lions responded with a 9-2 run covering the final 2:30 of the first quarter as they led 17-10 after ten minutes of play.
• The Green and White turned their play around to start the season, hitting the Lions with a 13-0 run to start the second quarter as York forged a 23-17 lead. York eventually took an eight point lead (27-19) with 5:17 remaining in the half. Albright answered with an 8-2 run, slicing the Spartan lead to a deuce at 29-27. Each team got a lay-up in the final minute as the Spartans took a 31-29 lead to the intermission.
• York held Albright to 29.3% first half shooting including 1-for-11 from three but the Lions took 10 more shots thanks to a seven rebound advantage for Albright. York shot 38.7% for the half but struggled at the stripe to the tune of 5-of-10.
• The Lions tied the at 33 early in the third quarter. However, the Spartans ripped off a prolonged 17-6 run that pushed the Spartan lead to 11 at 50-39, their largest lead of the game. The run covered 6:39 and was fueled by Breana Grim as the junior guard notched seven points. The Lions scored four of the final six points of the quarter as York led 52-43 heading to the final quarter of play.
• The Lions seized control of the game in the fourth. They kick started the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run that sliced the Spartan lead to 54-51. Grim hit a jumper with 6:30 left to push the lead back to six. The Lions answered with a 7-2 spurt to tie the game at 58 with 4:19 remaining in regulation. Grim hit a pair of buckets around a Julie Zakovitch free throw to give York a 63-59 lead with just 3:07 left.
• The Lions got back-to-back lay-ups from Ciarra Gibbs and Chrisdin Jones to tie the game at 63 with just under three minutes left. York took their final lead of the night on a Taylor Burda triple. The Lions cut the Spartan lead to one with 2:17 left. York missed shots in their next two possessions and then had three straight turnovers, setting the stage for Zakovitch's heroics with seven seconds left. Albright outscored York 24-14 in the final ten minutes of play.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 35.5% (22-for-62) from the floor and 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three … the Green and White went 16-for-22 (72.7%) from the line … Albright shot 33.8% (26-for-77) from the field including 3-for-20 (15.0%) from three and 75% (12-for-16) from the stripe … Albright attempted 15 more field goals in the game while they made four more shots … the Lions dominated York on the glass, 50-42 … the Lions had 23 offensive rebounds which led to 14 second chance points … both teams had 18 turnovers … York had 19 points off turnovers while Albright had 16 points off Spartan miscues …Albright had an 11-8 edge in steals while York had a 6-4 edge in blocked shots … the Albright bench outscored their Spartan counterparts 29-16 … Albright had a significant 36-20 margin in paint points … York led for 65% (28:01) of the game … CJ Apistar led the way for the Lions with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals in 36 minutes for Albright … Ciarra Gibbs added 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals … Chrisdin Jones contributed 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot … Mackenzie Dover pulled in 10 rebounds, dished out three assists and scored seven points for the Lions.
 
Spartan Notes
York is now 4-5 all-time against the Lions as the loss snapped a two-game win streak over Albright … the Spartans are now 3-4 all-time against the Lions as MAC Commonwealth opponents … York has lost two in a row for the second time this season … the Spartans are just 1-4 away from Wolf Gymnasium after going 9-6 last year … the Spartans shot a season-best 42.9% from three in the game while their 14 attempted threes are tied for their second-lowest total of the year … York has now been out-rebounded in 11 games this year as the Spartans are 4-7 when losing the battle on the glass … York tied for a season-low with eight assists in the game … Breana Grim tied her season high with 24 points as she was 9-for-13 from the floor, 4-for-6 from three and 2-for-2 from the line … Grim added six rebounds and three assists in 40 minutes of play … Morgan Adams had another double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds with three blockes and five steals .. Taylor Burda was the third Spartan in double figures with 11 points while she also had five rebounds and four assists.
 
Up Next
The Spartans continue their two-game road trip on Saturday as they head to Frederick, Maryland to face the Hood Blazers in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Tip time is set for 1:00 pm on Saturday.