YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball team posted their fifth straight win as they rolled past Alvernia University 70-43 in MAC Commonwealth action on Saturday in York.
The Spartan defense was outstanding in the first and third quarters as they held the Golden Wolves to just eight points combined in the two periods. The Spartans avenged their January 8 loss at Alvernia (59-51) with Saturday's victory.
The Spartans improve to 14-7 overall and 7-3 in the MAC Commonwealth. Alvernia is now 11-10 overall and 5-5 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans could not have had a better defensive first quarter as they held the Golden Wolves to just two points. Unfortunately for York, they didn't really get anything going on the offensive end themselves. Morgan Adams opened the scoring 2:13 into the game and Jennah DeGout got a lay-up for Alvernia at the 6:23 mark. The Spartans scored their second bucket with just 4:26 left in the quarter as Makenna Zimmerman converted a lay-up to give York the 4-2 lead.
• Zimmerman's bucket started a 10-0 run that carried the Spartans through the end of the quarter. York's defense held the Golden Wolves to just 1-for-14 from the floor while they also forced seven first quarter turnovers. York scored just six points off the seven Alvernia miscues as the Spartan lead could have been much bigger.
• York started hitting some perimeter shots in the second quarter as Shealyn Ricks drilled a pair of threes in the opening minute of the period. The Golden Wolves scored six straight to slice the Spartan lead to 18-10 but York responded with a 6-0 run of their own to push the lead back to 14 at 24-10 with 4:15 left in the half. Alvernia went on a brief 7-1 spurt, cutting their deficit to eight but York scored six of the final eight points of the half to take a 31-19 lead to the intermission. Alvernia finished the first half shooting 25.9% from the floor while the Spartans converted 37.1% of their first half attempts from the field.
• The Spartans started the third quarter on an 13-4 run as their lead grew to 44-23 with 3:57 left in the period. Taylor Brenneman and Adams fueled the run with four points each. York ended the quarter outscoring the Golden Wolves 21-6 as the Spartans led 52-25 after 30 minutes of play.
• Alvernia wanted to push tempo to start the fourth as they began really pressing the Spartans. The Golden Wolves scored 14 of the first 18 points of the quarter, knocking York's 27 point lead down to 15 with 3:44 left. The Spartans finished the game on a 14-4 run of their own to cruise to the 27-point victory.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 35.6% (21-for-59) from the floor and 5-for-17 (29.4%) from three … the Spartans were 23-for-31 (74.2%) from the charity stripe in the game … Alvernia shot 25.4% (16-for-63) from the field including 3-for-17 (17.6%) from three and 80% (8-for-10) from the line … Alvernia's 25.4% shooting from the floor was their second-worst shooting night of the year (18.5% vs. Messiah on January 15) … the Spartans held a 49-42 edge on the glass including a 12-11 margin in offensive rebounds … York finished the game with a 13-6 advantage in second chance points … Alvernia had 18 turnovers while York had 13 miscues in the game … York held a slight 24-20 edge in paint points … Olivia Burke was the lone Alvernia player to reach double figures as she had 16 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter … Burnke added five rebounds, an assist and a steal as she was 6-for-10 from the field including one three while she was also 3-for-4 from the stripe … Paige O'Brien chipped in with six points for Alvernia as she hit a pair of triples in the game.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans lead the all-time series with the Golden Wolves 13-10 as they snap a two-game losing streak in the series … the Spartan defense continues to shine at the right time of the year as they have held their last three opponents to an average of 48.3 points per game while those three opponents are shooting just 25.7% (53-for-206) in those three contests … the Spartans won the battle on the glass for the seventh time this year and they are now 7-0 when winning that margin for the year … York assisted 66.7% (14-of-21) of their made field goals in the win … York's five game win streak is their longest of the year … York placed three players in double figures led by Morgan Adams as she had 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots in the win … Shealyn Ricks set a pair of new career-highs with 13 points and eight rebounds … Ricks was 3-for-5 from the floor, 3-for-4 from three, and 4-for-6 at the line in her 22 minutes of action … Georgia Panopoulos was the third Spartan in double figures with 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists … Alyssa Hocker led the Spartans on the glass with 10 rebounds to go along with her four points.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to Wolf Gymnasium on Wednesday night as they will host Albright in a critical MAC Commonwealth contest. Tip time at Wolf Gym is set for 6:00 pm.

Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans