York (Pa.) athletics file photo Keli Ward averages 16.6 points and 7.4 assists per game. Just don't tell her how good she is. She doesn't want to hear it.

York (Pa.) women's coach Betsy Witman likes to aim high. A year ago, she encouraged her team's lofty goals and the T-shirts that promoted the theme of "Heading for Hope," a reference to the site of the Final Four.

That was after a season in which the Spartans won a school-record 19 games, but didn't get into the NCAA Tournament. Witman met with her six seniors-to-be, all of whom had stuck it out since coming in as a a six-person freshman class in the fall of 2005.

She told them that they could come up with the theme for 2008-09. And it was determined that simpler would be better.

"Coach," said one of the six, point guard Keli Ward. "Let's just take it one game at a time."

Now, you've probably heard that a million times, so it's nothing new, but it's what worked to take some of the pressure of the bigger goals away.

It's worked better than anyone could have imagined.

"I'm not sure any of us could have expected this," Witman said. And "this" is a 23-game win streak, a 23-1 record, a regular-season title-clinching 15-0 mark in the Capital Athletic Conference, and a No. 9 record nationally heading into the weekend. "I'm happy with this success. I don't know where it's going. We're just trying to enjoy it. This is really big for us."

Witman has never gone 6-for-6 with a recruiting class since coming to the school in 1997. And she's never had a player quite like Ward either.

"That the six of them have come and stuck it out, that's a credit to them," Witman said. "They are the glue that keeps our programs together. When your best player is probably the most unselfish and humble player, that helps make the class special too. So many of them have improved their games so much."

York (Pa.) athletics file photo April Sparkman shoots better than 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 85 percent from the line.

Ward probably wouldn't want to admit it, but her stats are off-the-charts impressive. She's shooting 54 percent (41 percent from 3-point range), and averaging 16.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. Her assist-to-turnover rate is 3-to-1, and she's also tops on the team with 66 steals.

"You try to give her a compliment and her face gets red," Witman said with a laugh.

"She is our leader, the kind of player who can take over a game on put a team on her back. She is such a weapon. She can take you off the dribble, get to the basket, step back and hit a 3-pointer, or spot up for a 3-pointer. She is incredibly humble. She's started just about every game since she's been here, but she came up to me and said ‘I know we have six seniors. If you want to start the other five on Senior Day, I'm willing to sit out."

"I don't think any of us would have a problem sitting," Ward said, deflecting the attention. "I think that's the kind of personality that this team has."

It's the kind of team that has the ability to get through its gut-check moments and come out on top. The Spartans seniors won a close game at Mary Washington early in the season, a win that Witman called a turning point in realizing how good this team could be. They beat the Eagles in the rematch in dramatic fashion when Ward found sophomore April Sparkman for a game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left. The pair connected again for a game-winning basket with a second to play for win No. 21, a 59-57 victory at McDaniel.

"April and Kelly have had a great connection on the court this year," Witman said, with Sparkman just behind Ward at 16.0 points per game.

Added Ward: "April makes my job easier," and referred both to Sparkman's cut-to-the-basket ability and defensive skills (she usually draws the top assignment) as "awesome."

Also excelling are fellow seniors Amanda Andrews and 1,000-point scorer Chenel Perez, while classmates Amy Fry, Donna Figenshu and Jackie Garlock come off the bench. Sophomore Amy Sapp has also been big for the Spartans, literally, as her height as given the team a dimension that it had previously lacked.

Two key stats for York this season: The first five games featured five different leading scorers. That set the tone. So did averaging better than 20 assists per game in those respective contests, the only blemish being a season-opening loss to Messiah. York leads the nation in assists-per-game, netting 18.9 per.

"We have no problem giving the ball to someone who is open for a better shot," Ward said.

This time around, York has taken its best shot. Though the previous T-shirts referenced the idea of getting to Holland, Mich., the season's theme a year ago was also "It's Our Time."

"I actually feel that's a better fit for us this year," Ward said. "I'm excited to see what happens for us this year.

"And I think we're ready for it."

WIAC-INESS COMES THROUGH: The men's championship picture in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference cleared up considerably on Wednesday night.

With Platteville's upset loss to Eau Claire and Stevens Points' 78-62 victory over La Crosse, the Pointers clinched their 25th WIAC championship, the seventh in the last decade. The win also gives Stevens Point home court throughout the WIAC Tournament next weekend.

However, just because the conference championship race may be over, that does not diminish the importance of Saturday's meeting between Stevens Point and Platteville. The Pioneers still have a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed with a victory and Whitewater loss.

"The most important game is the next one," said UW-Platteville junior guard Mike Shaw. "With implications coming down to the last week, the season's been really exciting. It's turning into a fiasco, but it's the biggest week of the year and I'm excited for it.

"We call it a one-game season," Shaw added. "We've had so much experience over the past two years. This team's been together for three years. Last year, we got so much experience with getting beaten in the first round of the tournament. Experience is something you get when you don't get what you want. We're going to put forth our best effort."

"We're pretty used to it," said Stevens Point coach Bob Semling. "This league usually is not decided until the final week of the season. It's always been a competitive league. Sometimes there are even four teams that are still in it going into the last week of the season. February in the WIAC is pretty special."

In the first meeting of the year in early January, Stevens Point won a 73-66 game that was decided in overtime. Two areas of the game where the Pointers were able to beat Platteville were points off turnovers (15-9) and bench scoring (23-15).

The Pointers also forced 14 turnovers and gave away only six the entire game.

The four games Platteville and Stevens Point played against Whitewater have all been competitive. The contests have been decided by a total of 26 points, an average of 6.5 points per game.

"It speaks volumes for the type of league this is year-in and year-out," said Platteville coach Paul Combs. "Whitewater and Stevens Point have had fantastic seasons and what a great week of basketball not only for the WIAC but the entire state of Wisconsin. It's something that all of us are very proud of and it should be a great week for the fans.

"I'm sure that some of us at all of the programs feel some additional pressure and stress, but when you play the type of exhibitions and non-conference games and you go through a schedule like all of our teams have, you're prepared for a lot of adversity and face some difficult circumstances," Combs added. "Ten of the 15 starters are seniors and there are some seniors that come off the bench and play meaningful minutes. There's just no substitute for experience."

That experience is what both teams will lean on Saturday afternoon.

Platteville will be on the road for the second straight game. The Pioneers lost their last two road games at Whitewater and Eau Claire by 18 points.

If positioning in the WIAC Tournament was not enough to be worried about, the Pioneers face an opponent celebrating Senior Night for the second time in a four-day period.

"They're like coaches on the floor," Semling said of his four seniors: Khalifa El-Amin, Bryan Beamish, Pete Rortvedt and Jerome Wotachek. "They think the game really well and not only on game day but in practice and our preparation. The young guys really feed off of those guys. They see how they think the game and how they prepare both mentally and physically.

"Game day in Stevens Point is something very unique," said Semling. "Our fans, going way back to Dick Bennett and Terry Porter, they are very much a part of what happens on game day. To be at home and be in front of our crowd is certainly something we're thankful [for]. We also know that playing at home does not guarantee you a win.

While Stevens Point honors its senior class, the Pioneers will be thinking redemption for a first round loss in the WIAC Tournament and Wednesday's setback, both to Eau Claire, as well as that loss earlier in the year to Stevens Point.

"Our experience with Senior Nights or Days is that the fans are a little bit more revved up, not that they need an excuse to get more revved up in the situation that we're in," said Combs. "Certainly, those seniors will step to the forefront and make plays. We're going to have to channel our energy and understand that it all comes down to playing basketball within the lines."

"You look to your upperclassmen to not only being good leaders on the floor but also off the floor, taking care of your academics, taking care of your body," Combs said. "I told our guys yesterday that we're going to be making plays and decisions the next 30 days that we'll remember for the next 50 years of our lives."

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