ARLINGTON, Va. – A blockbuster fourth quarter by the No. 25 and top-seeded Marymount (Va.) University women's basketball team helped it overcome an 11-point deficit to fourth-seeded York College of Pennsylvania to take a 61-52 victory on Thursday night and punch its ticket into the Capital Athletic Conference Championship for the 17th time in program history. 

The Saints (22-4, 16-2 CAC) jumped on the Spartans early, cracking a quick 11-2 advantage in the first seven minutes of play. The presence inside worked the power on the glass with senior Miranda Krott and sophomore Nicole Viscuso working in the paint for the first three layups for the blue and white, before senior Kievanna Lacey used her speed to get to the rim for her first bucket of the day. Sophomore Leah Hurst continued the offensive surge, catching a pass from freshman Tyffani McQueen for the outside bomb and the 11-2 advantage. 

There was no slowing down through the final three minutes of the quarter, grabbing a double-digit lead at the buzzer on a turnaround jumper at the elbow by junior Kiki Laux to move the score to 17-7 headed into the next 10-minute stretch. 

Hurst opened up the second quarter with a defensive rebound and transitioned it into a layup on the other end to give the Saints their largest lead of the game of 12. But, the Spartans weren't going away. Over the next eight minutes until the half, York chipped away at its deficit to trail by just one headed to the locker room, 23-22. 

By the third quarter, the Spartans stepped up their defense grabbing their first lead of the contest at the 8:24 mark off a Sam Hruz jumper, 26-25. Two jumpers by Viscuso that sandwiched a layup by York kept the Saints within one before three-straight shots from behind the arc by the Spartans pushed their advantage to 10, 39-29. 

In the closing minute, senior Aileen Maknati caught a dish from McQueen to give MU a little momentum heading into the break with a long ball from the right wing to cut the Spartans' lead to just seven, 46-39. 

A squad that is currently ranked No. 4 in the country in scoring defense proved why in the fourth and final quarter, holding York to six points through the full 10 minutes. 

Riding the Maknati three-pointer into the restart, Laux and Krott kicked off the stretch with back-to-back layups to get within one in less than a minute. York answered with a tough finish inside but Marymount found its stride, using a 10-point run to retake the lead with just over two minutes remaining. In the run, Viscuso cashed in six of the points off two free throws, a layup and a jumper. 

The crowd, already cheering on the comeback, erupted at the 1:19 mark in the quarter when Krott helped put the finishing touch on the momentum swing and the game. Catching the ball just inside the arc on the right side, the senior found room down the lane in which she went up strong for the layup, dropping in the basket while drawing the foul. Krott went to the line and showed no hesitation on capitalizing on the three-point play. 

York pushed the ball the other way for a layup to cut the lead to five, but a free throw apiece by McQueen and Laux and a transition find by Hurst to Laux capped off the 61-52 victory to send the Saints to the conference championship. 

Viscuso led all scorers for the game with 16 points, while Krott notched her third double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Hurst also cracked double figures in scoring with 13 points to go along with a game-high four steals and six assists. McQueen tied a career high in assists for the contest with a game-high seven. 

As the top seed, the Saints will host the title game in the Verizon Sports Arena on Saturday, February 27. Marymount will take on the winner of the other semifinal matchup, third-seeded University of Mary Washington, who defeated No. 20 and second-seeded Christopher Newport University, 77-63. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.