Box Score York, Pa. – Junior center Nina Haller (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) tallied a game-best 18 points Wednesday night but the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball team fell short at York College of Pennsylvania. York came out with the 54-48 Capital Athletic Conference win to sweep the series.
The loss keeps St. Mary's (7-15, 5-10 CAC) in a tie for sixth with Penn State Harrisburg (9-13, 5-10 CAC). The Seahawks will battle Penn State Harrisburg this Saturday, February 13 during their annual Play 4 Kay Pink Game on Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. St. Mary's posted a 56-54 road win over the Nittany Lions on January 16.
Haller picked up 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting as well as an 8-of-14 effort from the charity stripe. She also hauled in nine caroms and matched a season-best with five blocks. First-year forward Kobe Chaney (Annapolis, Md./South River) paced the Seahawks on the boards with 12 rebounds while adding four points and two blocks.
Following a slow start, St. Mary's outscored the Spartans, 19-7, in the second quarter and carried a 28-23 advantage into halftime. The Seahawks turned their play around by erasing a seven-point deficit with a 7-0 start to the period, tying the game at 16-16 at 5:16 on a Haller layup. Haller notched six of the team's final nine points of the half to give her team the five-point lead at intermission.
Haller was hard to contain in the first 20 minutes, totaling 10 points and seven rebounds in leading all players at the break. Forwards Morgan Kuehne (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) and Katie McGowan (York, Pa./Dallastown) paced York with six points each while junior Sam Hruz (White Marsh, Md./Mercy) pulled down six caroms.
The game's tempo continued in favor of St. Mary's in the second half as the Seahawks built a 35-25 lead at 5:56 of the third stanza. First-year guard Victoria Varner (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata) came off the bench to spark York with a pair of three-pointers, leading the Spartans on a 17-4 run to close the third and a 42-39 YCP advantage.
A combined total of four turnovers marked the opening of the fourth quarter before first-year guard Katie Robey's (Kensington, Md./Georgetown Visitation Prep) basket cut the deficit to one at 7:27. The Seahawks would get no closer as York (17-5, 11-4 CAC) extended its lead to eight three times during the final minutes.
First-year Beth Wiseley (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) led the way for YCP with 10 points while Hruz finished with a game-high 13 boards plus five points and four assists.
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