Cory Minjarez (SR/El Paso, Texas) led the Lady Panthers in a high scoring shootout against Bethany College Friday night. It took two overtime periods before the game was complete but the home crowd was pleased to wait that long with the thriller they received as York came back to score their first win of the season.
The Panthers raced out to a quick 8-0 lead behind back to back 3's by Minjarez and Courtney Swope (SR/Spring Hill, Kan), follwed by another bucket by Minjarez. After a quick timeout by the Swedes the game went back and forth for much of the night. Bethany nipped away slowly and was finally able to tie the game at 24 with just over 7 minutes to play in the first half. The Swedes controlled the rest of the half building their lead to seven before settling for a six point lead taking them into the half up 45-39.
The second half started similar to the end of the first as Bethany controlled the tempo and built their largest lead of the game with 13:32 remaining going up 59-46 after a turnover by Swope. However, right after that turnover she would get the tide to change as she hit a three-pointer of her own to help spark a Panther team that was struggling offensively. It would take a little bit of time but York started to wittle away at a double-digit deficit. Minjarez would get the Panthers within one with just over seven minutes to play; however, the Swedes would not relinquish the lead until three minutes later when Minjarez sank a three-point shot to put the Panthers up 75-74. Bethany went on a 5-0 run before the Panthers stormed back with their own 9-0 run with 50 seconds left on the clock, Doreen Lopez (SR/Pico Rivera, Calif) scoring the final four points for the Panthers. The Swedes were far from done as they scored a bucket on an offensive rebound and then on the Lopez miss Royce Shields tied the game with 7 seconds remaining. The Panthers had the last chance but a traveling call on a made layup by Minjarez at the buzzer sent the game into overtime knotted at 84.
The first overtime period saw buckets trade back and forth but it was the Panthers that had the last second excitement to end the period as Swope scored a buzzer beater from the corner tying the game at 96 and sending it to another period.
The second overtime period saw much of the same but York was able to stay strong down the stretch as the Swedes missed some free throws in critical situations and the Panthers were able to knock theirs down. Doreen Lopez made three of four and Minjarez knocked down two as the Panthers gained a three point advantage. The Swedes were unable to answer as a missed two-point attempt came up short and the Panthers took the game with a 109-106 final.
Cory Minjarez had a career night as she was one assist shy of a triple-double. She tied her career marks with 33 points and 10 rebounds, and broke her mark with 9 assists. The Lady Panthers had four others score in double figures: Swope scored 19 points on 5-7 from beyond the arc; Doreen Lopez had a double-double of her own with 16 points and 10 boards; Zanoria Echols (SR/Olive Branch, Miss) had 12 points and Jacqueline Esquivel (SO/San Antonio, Texas) added 11.
Coach Matthew Madole was very excited about the win saying "I'm really proud of the team. We really had to hunker down and gut this one out. We created some great opportunities tonight but at the same time we had some not so nice things going on. Free throws doomed us the other night and we nailed those down the stretch and that ended up being the difference. We made some and they missed some. It was a great game in a great environment. Need to enjoy it, get some rest, and start again tomorrow. We had to play an extra ten minutes that Sterling didn't have to. We need to make sure that doesn't become a factor. But that was a fun game."
The Panthers take on Sterling tomorrow afternoon at 1:00pm in the Freeman Center. With the win York improves to 1-1 on the season.
