The Hawks improve to 1-0 and will face Juniata in the tournament championship game while York will square off against McDaniel in the tournament consolation game.
The opening six minutes of the game did not feature the best of either team as the game was tied at eight. Over the next seven minutes the teams took turn trading baskets as the largest lead was a four point Hawk advantage with 8:42 remaining in the half. With the game tied at 18 with 6:09 left in the half, New Paltz went on a 15-3 run to end the half as they took a 33-21 lead to the half.
The Spartans were brutal from the floor in the first half as they converted just 4-of-27 from the floor including 0-for-9 from distance.
The green and white came flying out of the half as they slapped the Hawks with a 12-0 run to tie the game at 33 just 2:36 into the half. York would eventually take a 37-36 lead on a Jess Kemp (York, PA/York Suburban) lay-up with 15:59 remaining in the game. That would be the last time the Spartans held the lead as New Paltz fashioned a 10-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 46-37 lead with 11:24 remaining. York cut the lead to two at 52-50 on a Kristen Daly (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) layup with 6:59 remaining but the Spartans would score just four more points over the last six minutes of the game as their shooting struggles haunted them all night long.
Guard Jenny Driscoll led all scorers as she came off the New Paltz bench to drain 17 points. Driscoll was 6-for-7 from the floor including 3-for-3 from distance and 2-for-2 from the line. Forward Chelsea Clarke added 10 points and five rebounds for the Hawks. Kerri Kelty had six points, three assists, and three rebounds for New Paltz.
York was led by sophomore Amy Fry (Carlisle, PA/Big Spring) as the forward recorded 14 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes of work. Chanel Perez (Biglerville, PA/Gettysburg) added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds while she also had two steals and two blocked shots. Point guard Keli Ward (Nottingham, PA/Oxford) had nine points, four steals, two rebounds, and two assists for YCP.
The Spartans finished the game shooting a cold 28.4% including just 1-for-25 from three. New Paltz out-rebounded York 42-33 as the Hawks shot 45.5% from the floor. York forced 32 New Paltz turnovers and allowed just 44 Hawk shots for the game while York attempted 67 field goals.
In the other semifinal, Juniata outlasted McDaniel 57-53. The Eagles received 19 points, six assists, and three rebounds from guard Claudia McDowell. Jess Winemiller added 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for Juniata while Kelly Ashcraft had 10 points and four rebounds. Kelly Rotan pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Eagles.
McDaniel was led by Heather Thompson as she had 15 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots, and two steals. Katy Powell added 14 points, three steals, and two rebounds to the Green Terror attack.
The Spartans and Green Terror kick off Saturday’s action in the consolation contest at 1:00 pm. Juniata and SUNY-New Paltz follow with the championship game at 3:00 pm.