The Spartans found themselves down early as the Lynx led 9-5 just 4:22 into the game. Rhodes then fashioned a 15-4 run to push their advantage to 16 at 25-9. The Lynx extended the lead to 18 as Gretchen Bufe and Ashley Farrell each hit threes, giving Rhodes a 31-13 lead. The Lynx settled for the 36-19 halftime lead.
Rhodes shot 45.5% from the floor in the opening half while the green and white converted just 21.9% (7-for-32) of their first half attempts from the field. York also went a paltry 1-for-10 from beyond the arc while the Lynx were 5-for-9 from downtown.
The second half saw the Lynx maintain their lead in double figures. The bulge grew to as many as 25 on two different occasions but the Spartans used a 9-3 spurt towards the end of the game to trim the lead to 13 before Rhodes hit a pair of free throws to provide for the final 15 point margin of victory.
Preseason All-American Taylor Cook led the Lynx to the win as she had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Cook was 6-for-13 from the floor including 3-for-4 from distance and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Crystal Jessee was also outstanding for Rhodes as she also had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Farrell contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots, three steals, and two assists to the Rhodes cause. Brooke Levister was the fourth Lynx in double figures with 10 points.
The Spartans were led by freshman Chanel Perez as she registered team highs in points with 16 and rebounds with eight. Perez was 6-for-11 from the floor but just 4-for-9 from the free throw line. Sophomore Kristen Daly added 13 points and three rebounds to the Spartan attack.
Rhodes finished the game shooting 40.3% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the arc. The Lynx also finished the game converting 75% (12-for-16) from the free throw line. The Spartans shot a chilly 27.3% from the field for the contest including a 2-for-15 (13.3%) mark from downtown. The Spartans could have made the contest a bit closer as they went to the line 11 more times than Rhodes but York went 16-for-27 from the stripe, a shooting percentage of 59.3%.
Spartan head coach Betsy Witman was pleased with the efforts of her team.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball well today,” said Witman. “Rhodes is a good team but we stayed competitive and played hard the entire game. It’s hard to win when you shoot 27% for the game. We gave a good effort and this is the type of game we will learn from.”
The Spartans return to action on Sunday when they face Carnegie Mellon in the 1:00 pm consolation game.
Rhodes vs York (Pa.) 11/19/05 3:00 pm at Baltimore, MD At Baltimore, MD RHODES 69, YORK (PA.) 54 RHODES (1-0) Taylor Cook 6-13 2-2 17; Ashley Farrell 4-8 4-4 14; Crystal Jessee 7-12 0-1 14; Brooke Levister 3-6 3-4 10; Rachel Hettinger 2-11 1-1 5; Gretchen Bufe 2-5 0-0 5; Haynes Kleimeyer 1-1 0-0 2; Megan Flatt 0-2 1-2 1; Amie Cahill 0-0 1-2 1; Brittany Solar 0-3 0-0 0; Kristen Lytle 0-1 0-0 0; Anne Bradshaw 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 12-16 69. YORK (PA.) (0-1) Chanel Perez 6-11 4-9 16; Kristen Daly 4-12 5-7 13; Keli Ward 2-11 4-6 8; Jess Kemp 1-7 3-4 6; Jess Huntley 2-9 0-1 5; Heidi Miller 2-7 0-0 4; Amanda Andrews 1-7 0-0 2; Sarah Moser 0-0 0-0 0; Amy Fry 0-2 0-0 0; Jackie Garlock 0-0 0-0 0; Gina Casadei 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-66 16-27 54. Rhodes........................ 36 33 - 69 York (Pa.).................... 19 35 - 54 3-point goals-Rhodes 7-15 (Taylor Cook 3-4; Ashley Farrell 2-2; Brooke Levister 1-2; Gretchen Bufe 1-3; Megan Flatt 0-1; Brittany Solar 0-1; Kristen Lytle 0-1; Rachel Hettinger 0-1), York (Pa.) 2-15 (Jess Kemp 1-4; Jess Huntley 1-1; Keli Ward 0-5; Heidi Miller 0-1; Amanda Andrews 0-4). Fouled out--Rhodes-Rachel Hettinger, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Rhodes 53 (Crystal Jessee 12), York (Pa.) 41 (Chanel Perez 8). Assists-Rhodes 11 (Rachel Hettinger 6), York (Pa.) 7 (Keli Ward 3). Total fouls-Rhodes 24, York (Pa.) 14. A-150 The Spartans open their 2005-06 campaign with a loss. York faces Carnegie Mellon in the consolation game on Sunday.