YORK, Pa. – The Albright women's basketball team picked up a big 64-58 conference victory over a talented York team on the road Wednesday evening.
 
With the win, the Lions advance to 4-4 in MAC Commonwealth play and 9-5 overall. Meanwhile, the Spartans pick up their first conference loss and fall to 7-1 in the MAC Commonwealth and 13-3 overall.
 
Senior Maggie O'Hare led all scorers with 19 points behind 6-for-13 shooting from the field, 2-for-9 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. O'Hare also grabbed five rebounds and picked off five steals. Senior Amina Rauf followed with 13 points behind 4-for-8 shooting from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Senior Gabby Boggs tallied 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting, seven rebounds, and three assists. Senior Abby Gaffney added seven points on 3-for-5 shooting, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Senior Brady Wassel pulled a game-high eight rebounds and added six points.
 
York opened up the game with five unanswered points to take an early lead. Albright got within one with a pair of free throws from Boggs and a layup from Gaffney. The Spartans then pulled ahead 10-4 after scoring on back-to-back possessions. A Rauf three-pointer then sparked a 12-4 run for the Lions and was capped off with a basket from Gaffney to give them their first lead of the game at 16-14 with 23 seconds left in the first. York closed out the opening frame with a buzzer beater shot with distance to put the Spartans back in front 17-16. York used that momentum to go on a 7-4 run in the opening minutes of the second quarter to pull ahead 24-20. Boggs and Rauf snapped the run with back-to-back buckets to tie the game up at 24 at the 3:01-mark. York netted a final basket and a free throw to hold onto a 27-24 lead entering the break.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the second half, with the Spartans using a slight 8-6 advantage to hang onto a 35-30 lead. Six straight points from O'Hare gave the Lions a 36-35 lead at the 3:17-mark. The Spartans took the lead back with a basket and a pair of free throws, bringing the score to 39-36. Wassel got the Lions back within one, but the Spartans closed out the third stanza with consecutive baskets to give them a 43-38 lead entering the fourth quarter. Albright used a 7-3 run that got them within one and sparked a dominant fourth quarter for the Lions. York netted a basket to hold onto their lead, but back-to-back threes from Rauf sparked an 11-4 run capped with a big three from first-year Mackenzie Dover that put Albright ahead 56-52 at the 2:41-mark. A York layup cut their deficit to two, but O'Hare responded with a bucket to keep the Lions in front 58-54 with less than a minute remaining. York was forced to foul Albright in the final minute, but the Lions went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to solidify their 64-58 win.
 
Albright shot a strong 21-for-43 from the floor (48.8%), 8-for-21 (38.1%) from beyond the arc, and 14-for-17 (82.4%) from the charity stripe. The Lions dominant fourth quarter where they shot 77.8% from the floor and held York to just 18.8% shooting led them to victory. The Lions also won the battle on the glass 37-25. Meanwhile, York shot 19-for-55 (34.5%) from the field, 3-for-19 (15.8%) from three-point range, and 17-for-21 (81%) from the free-throw line. The Spartans converted 24 points off Lions turnovers and netted 26 points in the paint.
 
Albright will begin the second round of conference action on Wednesday, Jan. 26 as they host Messiah in the Bollman Center at 5 p.m.