WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Freshman Shelby Schoonover (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) lofted a pass just underneath the hoop for sophomore Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford), who lifted in an easy layup with nine seconds remaining to give the Lycoming College women's basketball team a 50-48 win over undefeated York (Pa.) in the championship game of the 10^th annual Hoops for Hounds Tournament at Lamade Gym on Tuesday, Dec. 29.
 
York (9-1 overall), which received 19 votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll, called timeout and advanced the ball to midcourt, but Lycoming (7-4 overall) defended the final possession perfectly, allowing a long 3-pointer that clanged off the rim before a desperation putback at the buzzer fell off, helping the Warriors win their third Hoops for Hounds Tournament and first since 2009.
 
In a game with six ties and eight lead changes, the Warriors took the lead for good on a jumper by Mueller off a quick look from senior Chelsea Henderson (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) with 5:46 left. Each team struggled offensively for the next three minutes, with neither team scoring until tournament MVP junior Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) picked up a steal and found Henderson in transition for a layup with 2:18 left.
 
York answered with a bucket to close within a point, but Calella pulled down a rebound on York's next possession and then, with the shot clock dwindling, she drove the lane and fired in a jumper off the glass with 58 seconds left. After a missed shot by York, the Spartans were forced to foul and Mueller hit the back end of her two shots to make it 47-43 with 27 seconds left. The Spartans weren't done, though, as Morgan Golec banked in a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left and fouled Calella, who hit one free throw to make it a two-point game.
 
A backcut  helped Brianna Bisci tie the game with 17 seconds left, lifting a layup off the glass, which set up Lycoming's final possession.
 
In the second half, neither team took a lead of more than four points, working through four lead changes and two ties in the third quarter and a tie and a lead change in the final 10 minutes. York took its largest lead of the half at 41-37 with 7:07 left, but Schoonover hit a huge 3-pointer on a pass from Caella to make it a one-point game, setting up Mueller's jumper on Lycoming's next possession to take a 42-41 lead.
 
The Warriors took advantage of a tentative York team in the first quarter, scoring 10 points in the paint and shooting 58 percent (7-of-12) from the field to build a seven-point lead at 12-5 with 1:54 left in the quarter after a fastbreak bucket from senior Chelsea Henderson (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers). The Spartans, who shot just 3-of-15 in the quarter, got a couple late buckets to close within 14-9 at the end of the quarter.
 
In the second quarter, York turned the tables on the Warriors, scoring 10 points in the paint and also forcing nine turnovers to overcome a seven-point deficit early in the quarter to take a one-point lead into the break.
 
Mueller led the Warriors with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists and Calella added 11 points, five assists and four steals. Henderson posted 10 points, seven rebounds and a career-high six steals. Schoonover, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, finished with six points and an assist and sophomore Haley Sipple (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) also added six points.
 
York was led by 15 points from Katie Wagner and 11 points and five rebounds from Morgan Golec. Sam Hruz had nine rebounds and All-Tournament Team selection Sarah Shearer added three points, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Jan. 2, when they head to Widener for a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader, with the women tipping at 1 p.m. before the men play at 3 p.m.