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Wolverines Fall in CAC Semifinals
York, Pa. - Wesley's Colleen Thomas (Howell, NJ/Howell) led all scorers with 20 points, but it wasn't enough to thwart the powerful York College Spartans (25-1) from earning their 25th straight victory of the season 72-53. York advances to the Capital Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday facing Mary Washington, who defeated Marymount 77-70 in the other half of the bracket.
Four of the Spartans starters scored in double figures. York's Keli Ward, one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Josten's Women's Basketball Player of the Year scored 13 points and dished out 9 assists to lead the Spartans.
Ward's output, however, was eclipsed by three other starters. Jaimie Sapp, April Sparkman, and Chanel Perez, scored 17, 16, and 15 points respectively in the victory, the third this season over the Wolverines.
After trading buckets for the first 7 minutes, Wesley was able to gain a 4 point advantage after 3-pointer by Colleen Thomas and a layup by Angie Owens (Seaford, Del./Seaford). Owens earned her points on an offensive rebound after a missed layup by guard Cory Boyd (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant). Owens finished with a game high 9 rebounds and Boyd finished with 13 points and 7 assists.
Wesley's advantage quickly dissapeared after a layup by Spartan reserve Amy Fry and layup by Sparkman following a steal by Ward with 12:13 remaining in the first half.
The Spartans began to assert themselves late in the half using a 9-0 run to build a 14 point margin, before two freethrows by Boyd with :27 seconds remaining and an opposing free throw by Ward with :10 seconds remaining gave York a comfortable 13 point advantage at the break.
The Spartans came out of the locker room with guns blazing with a 10-2 run to start the 2nd half. A three pointer by Wesley's Shavonda Cephas (Milford, Del./Milford) looked to stop the bleeding, but Ward ripped the bandage right back off with a three of her own.
The Spartans subsequently went on a 13-3 run to go up by 28 with 11:51 remaining in the game and never looked back. York would lead by as much as 30 points and settled for a decisive 24 point victory over the Wolverines.
With six rebounds in the game, Wesley's Angie Owens (Seaford, Del./Seaford) set Wesley's single season rebounding record with 299, passing the old record of 294 by Cressa Bacon in 2001-02.
With the loss, the Wolverines await word on a potential bid to the ECAC South Championships.
