Women’s basketball finishes season against York
YORK, Pa. – Despite a career game from Tiffany Manning (Randallstown, Md./Western Tech), Hood College women’s basketball was defeated by York 70-61 in Saturday afternoon’s season finale.
Inside the Box Score
Manning scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. She also led the Blazers with five assists while shooting 50 percent from the field.
Lee finished with 14 points and six rebounds while shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc.
How it Happened
York jumped out to an early 23-4 lead before Serenity Ritchie (Martinsburg, W.V./Martinsburg High School) scored on consecutive possessions to make it more manageable. Determined to perform in their final game, Lee and Manning scored on back-to-back trips to continue fighting back against the Spartans. Manning found Lee for one of her three pointers on the night. Then, after an Aliyah Taylor (Randallstown, Md./Pikesville High School) steal, Lee returned the favor and set Manning up to make a mid range jump shot. Manning made a pair of free throws and the Blazers’ defense shut the Spartans down for the remainder of the quarter. Hood trailed 23-14 after the first ten minutes.
The second quarter was more closely contested, and each team always had an answer for the other. The Blazers were getting points at the free-throw line and the Spartans made shots from long range. Sami Betley (Bel Air, Md./Mercy) was a force in the second quarter and was able to finish in traffic to put points on the board for Hood. Taylor was also able to get into the lane and score at-will. The Spartans were able to score just before the buzzer to go into halftime up 37-27.
Hood came out in the second half and their adjustments were evident. Betley scored down low again. Maya Gordon (Towson, Md./Loch Raven High School) showed up on defense and helped the Blazers’ defense stifle the Spartans offense and go on a run. Hood was able to cut the deficit to just two points after manning converted a tough three-point play with three minutes left in the third quarter. York was able to put together another run to protect their lead and go into the final frame with a 52-46 lead.
Ritchie scored six straight points as the fourth quarter began; she was determined to help her team win. The Spartans were able to build some offensive momentum and push their lead back up to double digits. Lee made another three pointer to cap-off an impressive collegiate career. Manning’s effort shined as Hood went down swinging and she posted her third double-double of the season. After a hard fought second half, the early deficit proved to be too much and Hood lost to York 70-61.
For the Opponent
Georgia Panopoulos led all scorers with 18 points.
Analysis
Hood had 27 turnovers to York’s 16.
The Spartans scored 25 points off turnovers and the Blazers scored 10.
Up Next
The team concludes a season that although it did not end how they would have wanted, it was still historic. This year’s squad won the most games since the 2010-11 season and played meaningful basketball till the very end. The future is bright for Hood College women’s basketball and there will be better days; however, none of it is possible without the hard work and dedication that members of this team and previous ones have put into making the program what it is. The Blazers will reload in the offseason and build towards next season.
