HESSTON, Kan. – The York University women's basketball team opened the season with a 73-70 victory at Hesston Saturday evening.
The Panthers overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and outscored the Larks by four points in the fourth stanza for the three-point win.
Head coach
Corinna Minjarez's team was led by
Destiny Shepherd's game-high 23 points on six-of-12 shooting, including a three-of-six effort from downtown. Shepherd canned all eight free throw attempts and dished out five assists.
Olivia Adams netted 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting and snagged eight boards.
Sylvia Valentino added nine markers while
Zoe Brown and
Monique Contreras accounted for six points each. Contreras recorded six steals and six rebounds to go along with four assists in 24 minutes of action.
Alliyana Page grabbed eight rebounds and chipped in four points in the win.
Shepherd's old-fashioned three-point play knotted the score at 34-34 in the third quarter. On the ensuing possession,
Kiera Parks found Adams for a jumper and a two-point edge. The back-and-forth affair saw Adams hit another jumper. A three-ball by Contreras and a charity toss from Parks gave York a 42-37 lead. The Panthers extended the advantage to 44-37 on a jumper by Adams, but Hesston held a 49-48 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
York trailed 66-58 with 2:11 to play, but Brown found Shepherd for a three-point bucket 10 seconds later. Shepherd hit two free throws and Brown netted a three-ball, tying the game at 66-66 with 77 seconds to play.
Tied at 68-68, Contreras hit another shot from distance with 27 ticks on the clock. Shepherd extended the lead to five on a pair of free throws from Shepherd before a three-point shot just before the buzzer made it a three-point final.
For the game, York hit 24-of-68 (35.3 percent) from the floor. The squad drilled seven three-point shots. The Panthers converted 30 turnovers into 24 points. Additionally, York scored 14 second chance points off 16 offensive rebounds.
The Panthers return to action Monday when they host the College of Saint Mary at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.
