YORK, Pa. – A late, fourth-quarter surge wasn't enough as the Frostburg State women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 68-64 loss at York (Pa.), Wednesday evening.
FSU fell to 3-13 overall and 0-9 in Capital Athletic Conference play, while the victory brought York (Pa.) to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in league play.
Down four at the start of the fourth quarter, FSU doubled up York's points in the first five minutes and knotted the game for the fifth time, at 59-59, with 4:52 to go.
After trading layups, York's Katie McGowan hit a free throw to give the Spartans a one-point lead. Just over a minute later, junior Kirsten Rayner took back the lead with a layup and a York foul sent freshman Megan Kelly to the line, where she knocked down one to place the Bobcats up 64-62 with 56 seconds to play.
A Bobcat foul with 37 seconds left sent the Spartans' Katie Wagner to the line, where she knocked down both shots to deadlock the game at 64-64.With time winding down, Wagner then stole the ball and made a layup to give York the go-ahead basket.
FSU called a timeout to set up a play, but an in-and-out three gave the hosts the ball back with six seconds left. A Frostburg foul sent Shearer to the line in hopes of getting the ball back and hitting a last-second shot to tie or win the game, but Shearer knocked both down to put the game out of reach for the Bobcats with a final 68-64 win.
York (Pa.) jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead in the opening quarter, but two baskets from junior Kache Fields sandwiched a three-pointer from Kelly to bring the game back within two, 13-11, with 4:12 to go.
The Spartans held off the Bobcats for the final four minutes and took a 22-15 lead at the first intermission.
FSU then leapt to a 9-2 rally in the opening minutes of the second quarter to knot the game at 24-24, but a quick three from York's Beth Wiseley and a jumper from Wagner gave the hosts the lead, 29-24, with just over five minutes before halftime.
The Bobcats countered with a three from freshman Bryce Papp and jumpers from both Rayner and Fields to deadlock the game for a second time at 31-31, before a jumper from senior Courtney Young gave FSU its first lead of the game, 33-31, with 1:37 before the half.
FSU was up three, 36-33, following another three from Kelly with 34 seconds to play, but an and-one play from York's Morgan Kuehne in the final nine seconds tied the game for a fourth time as the teams headed into the locker room deadlocked at 36-36.
This time it was York's turn to open the quarter with a 7-2 run as the Spartans led 43-38 just over halfway through the third quarter. Back-to-back jumpers from Young and Rayner brought the Bobcats within one, 43-42, but York again rallied with an 8-3 surge to lead 51-45 with 20 seconds left.
Consecutive layups dashed the hosts' streak as freshman Jasmin Tirado-Viscalla and Rayner found the bottom of the net to cut York's lead in half and take just a four-point deficit, 53-49, into the final 10 minutes of play.
Kelly led the Bobcats with 14 points and three assists, while Young added 13 points and 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double this season. Rayner added 13 points and nine boards.
Kuehne led the Spartans with 16 points, while Shearer added 10 points and 11 rebounds. McGowan (11 points, eight rebounds) and Wagner (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the hosts.
The Bobcats return to action Saturday, January 23 when they play host to Christopher Newport at 1:00 pm.
