Sophomore guard Claire Haeuptle came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points to lead the University of Mary Washington women's basketball team to a 76-67 victory over Capital Athletic Conference foe York College. Aubrey Howland added in a double-double for the Eagles with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Both squads now hold an 18-6 overall record; however the Eagles improve to 9-2 in conference play while York drops to 7-4.
Both teams got off to a slow start shooting a combined 4-for-15. At the 16:06 mark, York began a 8-0 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Hicks and Kristen Haley to extend their lead to 12-3. The Eagles quickly answered back with a 10-0 run of their own, also keyed by long range buckets by Sam Partonen and Brieneke Matthes, to retake the lead at 12:26.
The Eagles' balanced first half effort took them into the break with a 37-28 advantage. Aby Diop, Carol Dye, Howland and Haeuptle had 6 points apiece. UMW shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27) at the halfway mark, while holding the Spartans to 36.7 percent (11-30).
York came out strong in the second half with a 7-1 run, but play soon evened out. The Spartans finally tied the game with just under seven minutes left. Haley grabbed her own rebound and scored the tying layup to level the score 53-53. Hicks kept the visitors in the game with her 19 second-half points, but fouled out with only 2:09 left and her team down 69-63. The Eagles did not look back from there. Haeuptle sealed the deal in the final two minutes, going 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
Partonen also finished in double figures with 11 points. The Spartans' Brittany Hicks finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 32 points to go along with 12 boards. Haley ended the night with 22 points and went 2-for-3 from long range for the Spartans. Mary Washington shot 41.4 percent (24-58) and held York to 39.3 percent (24-61).
Dye was honored before the game for Senior Night in the Anderson Center. She had a strong performance with nine points and six rebounds along with two rejections. The Eagles return to action on Saturday as they travel to St. Mary's for their final regular season game. Also, with tonight's win, UMW earns a first round bye in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament and will host a semi-final matchup in the Anderson Center on Thursday, February 21, at 7 p.m.