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YORK, Pa. -- The top-seeded York College (Pa.) Spartans held off the 20th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains (22-5) on Saturday afternoon, capturing the 2014 Capital Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. CNU led briefly in the second half, and kept the game within two possessions for the majority of the contest, but the 12th-ranked Spartans (25-2) added a late surge to win its second CAC title, 66-53, over the Captains. 

With the victory, York earns the CAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Captains will have to wait to see if their season will continue, with the NCAA Selection Show set for 2:30 pm on Monday, March 3. 

In the game, CNU knocked down just as many field goals as the home team, and had one more three-pointer than the Spartans, but a tough-shooting performance from the free-throw line was a major factor. The Captains struggled, shooting just 8-for-20 from the charity stripe, while York (Pa.) would go 22-for-30, led by senior Brittany Hicks with a 12-for-14 performance. 

After the first twenty minutes, CNU was just 1-for-7 from the free-throw line, and shot 26.5% from the floor. Still, the Captains trailed by just three at halftime as the defense played well, forcing seven turnovers and holding York to just 39% shooting, and a 1-for-8 effort from beyond the arc. 

York jumped out to an early lead, cruising out to an 11-4 start over the first five minutes. A three-pointer by Jess Selby gave her five points in the stretch, getting the Spartans out in front. Senior Aja Wallpher made it an eight-point lead with 11:12 left in the half when she knocked down a layup to make it 15-7. 

CNU answered with a three-pointer from sophomore Jordan Miller and then one by rookie Allison Rowe. After the Spartans got the lead back to six, senior Nicole Mitchell dropped in a triple of her own and then got a quick steal. On the ensuing possession, junior Camry Green banked in another layup to cut the lead to one, 23-22, with just over a minute remaining. 

The Captains missed an opportunity to take the lead before the break, and ended up heading to the locker room down 25-22. 

At halftime, Green had already grabbed eight rebounds, adding four points. Mitchell posted a team-high six points, while adding six rebounds. 

Hicks was the star all day for the Spartans, finishing with a game-hiigh 23 points and team-high nine rebounds. She had nine points and three rebounds in the first half, leading the first-half charge. Selby added seven points in the first 20 minutes. 

Out of the locker room, the Captains hit the first two buckets of the half to take their first lead since the opening possession, 26-25. Green made both, and senior Andrea Hobbs had a key steal in the modest run. Wallpher made a tough shot to answer and re-take the lead, and after a pair of free-throws by Hicks, the lead was back to three for York. 

The Captains defense continued to shine, forcing another turnover, and Mitchell stepped up again with a big three. Her shot tied the game at 29 with 16:29 showing on the clock. With the momentum looking to shift back in favor of the Captains, Hicks and Selby made sure the home team took control again, dropping back-to-back trey's on their next two possessions to pull ahead by six, 35-29. 

CNU would make one more push, getting the game back within two possessions and holding it there until there was just under five and a half minutes to go. Green knocked down two free-throw's with 7:08 remaining to make the score 46-43, but York put together a 12-0 run to take control down the stretch. 

A three-pointer by Kelsey Murphy was the final shot of the run, giving the Spartans a 15-point advantage with just over three minutes to go, 58-43. Mitchell hit her third triple of the game, and Green continued to work down low as the Captains tried to claw back into it, but strong free-throw shooting by the Spartans down the stretch clinched the championship win. 

Green finished with her seventh double-double this season, scoring a team-high 16 points with 13 rebounds. Mitchell was the only other CNU player in double-figures, scoring 12 points to go with six boards, two assists and one steal.

As a team, the Captains shot just 29.9% from the field on 20-of-67 attempts. The Spartans hit 41.7% of their shots, hitting 20-of-48 attempts. CNU held a 20-14 advantage in scoring off turnovers, but the Spartans parlayed their edge on the glass, 46-39, into a 28-22 lead in points in the paint. 

While CNU drops its first ever appearance in the CAC Championship game, the Spartans are now 2-3 all-time in the league final, capturing their second ever conference crown.