Sadness....and the Final Four!

And the dream is over.

Keli Ward and the York College women lost Friday night to Scranton, 50-46, ending their scintillating run to national prominence.

The Spartans jumped out to an early 14-5 lead and led 27-25 at the half, but the Royals really ratcheted up the defense in the second twenty, forcing 25 turnovers for the game and holding YCP to their lowest point total of the season. Ward hit a layup to cut the lead to 48-46 with 33 seconds left, but, after the teams traded traveling violations, the refs apparently didn't call the fouls that the York was trying to give, and Scranton hit an uncontested layup in the closing seconds for the final margin.

Should the refs have called palming here?

Still, a great season for York: 27-3 overall record, 16-0 regular season in the Capital Athletic Conference, a 25-game winning streak, their highest-ever national ranking (#8), and a trip to the their first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament culminating in a trip to the national octavofinals. Congratulations, Spartans, and congratulations especially to the six seniors (Keli Ward, Chanel Perez, Amanda Andrews, Amy Fry, Donna Figenshu, and Jackie Garlock), who led York to their best season ever and, in their careers, compiled the best four-year mark of any Spartan class: 79-32, 18 more wins than any other four-year class in Spartan history.

But just a short wagon ride over the Susquehanna, a happier ending, as Franklin & Marshall rolled past DeSales 70-60 to earn their fifth trip to the Division III Final Four and their first since 2000 in front of 1,879 raucous fans at the Mayser Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Freshman Georgio Milligan paced the Diplomats with 21 points, including 8 in the final five minutes as DeSales tried to rally. James McNally added 16 on, impressively, 7-8 shooting from the field and pulled down 8 rebounds, Mike Baker grabbed 10 boards of his own, and Clay Scovill chipped in with 10 points.


The D3 Final Four tips off next weekend in, as usual, the tidewater and cigarette bastion of Salem, Virginia. Richard Stockton, Guilford, and Washington U. await the Dips. Stay tuned for a preview in this spot sometime later in the week.

And speaking of semifinals, the York (PA) Suburban boys basketballers continued their deepest run ever into the state tournament, cruising past Crestwood, 47-35, to reach the Class AAA round of four. The Trojans jumped out to a 16-2 lead and didn't look back, leading by as many as 19 and never letting Crestwood cut the deficit to single figures. Mitch Kemp opened the game with a three-pointer and again led YS with 17 points, and Tom McInerney added 16. The Trojans outrebounded Crestwood 28-18 and held the Comets to a dismal 14-35 shooting night. District XII third-place finisher Archbishop Carroll, who upset Neumann-Goretti, 70-65, awaits the Trojans on, I think, Tuesday night, at a place and time to be announced. Stay tuned for more details, and until then, go Matadors!