York, Pa.-- The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team lost a closely contested matchup with the #11 Spartans, 61-58. The Eagles had a lead in the final minutes of the game, but York made a run to win the game by three. The Eagles drop to 11-6, 4-5 in CAC play on the year.
York got the scoring started with a Brittany Hick three pointer, just about two minutes into the game, before Sam Partonen hit one of her three three pointers to tie the game up on the very next possesion.
The entire first half saw neither team get ahead by more than three, before the other answered on a run of their own. York pulled ahead late in the half with a 5-0 spurt to give the Spartans a six point lead with 5:15 to go in the opening frame.
A pair of Listenbee free throws and a Caitlin Ciniero jumper cut the Spartan lead to two, but York closed the half up by five, 37-32.
Partonen paced the Eagle offense in the first half scoring 13 points, and adding three steals. Listenbee and Ciniero each added six points in the opening half for the Eagles who shot 40% from the field, and 60% from three.
Freshman Brianne Comden opened the second half with a rare three pointer to cut the Spartan lead to only two. After a Hicks free throw, Aby Diop hit a jumper to cut the deficit to one, at 38-37.
Then it was York's turn to put together a run. The Spartans went on a run, up 40-39, to increase their lead to 44-39, with just under 16 to play. UMW went on a 9-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the contest.
Listenbee fueled the Eagle run, scoring six of the nine points during the four minute span. The run was capped off by a Claire Haeuptle trifecta to give UMW a 48-44 lead. UMW would keep that lead, get it to six at 56-50 with 4:17 to play.
But the Spartans never gave up. They outscored the Eagles 11-2 over the final four minutes to take the lead and win the game 61-58.
Three Eagles scored in double figures, lead by Sam Partonen with 15 points. She added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game. Listenbee and Ciniero also reached double digits with 12 and ten respectively. Listenbee added five boards, while Ciniero grabbed four boards and one assist. The Eagles shot 40.4% from the floor, also going 5-13 from beyond the arc.
UMW returns home on Wednesday, January 29th, when they host CAC opponent Frostburg St at 6:00 p.m.