Brittany Muscatell 4
Brittany Muscatell had eight points and four assists against Neumann

Lady Monarch Cagers Unable to Crawl Out of First-Half Hole in 79-70 Season-Opening Loss at Neumann

11/17/2009 9:12:47 PM

NOVEMBER 17, 2009
 
KING'S WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS IN SEASON OPENER TO NEUMANN
 
ASTON – The King's College women's basketball team was unable to overcome a brutal first-half start and, despite playing an outstanding second half, the Lady Monarchs dropped their 2009-10 season opener 79-70 to host Neumann University Tuesday in Aston.
 
Neumann, which was playing its second game of the year, was able to race out to an early lead as King's struggled in its first 20 minutes of the season. The Lady Monarchs compounded matters by getting into early foul trouble as King's was whistled for eight fouls in the first 4:58 of the game, forcing the starting backcourt of Brittany Muscatell and Katlin Michaels to the bench.
 
Neumann took full advantage and built a 21-point lead before settling for a 44-25 half-time advantage. King's dug itself into a hole it was unable to get out of after making only 6-of-25 shots from the field and just 10-of-22 from the free throw line in the opening stanza.
 
In the second half the Lady Monarchs began to find their rhythm and slowly chipped away, whittling the Knight's lead to six points at 54-48 on a Megan Rigous three-pointer with 10:27 remaining. Neumann built the lead back to 11 points but the Lady Monarchs again fought back and cut the lead to 66-62 on a pair of foul shots from Michaels with 3:04 left in the contest.

After a Neumann miss, Muscatell drove through the lane for a layup, trimming the Knight advantage to 66-64 with 2:18 on the clock. But following a Neumann time out, the Knights responded when Nicole Feby drained a three-pointer with 2:07 left to push the score to 69-64. King's was unable to recover as Neumann hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
Michaels finished with 20 points and six rebounds to lead King's while Rigous added 12 points and six boards. Muscatell contributed eight points and four assists while Nina Magan chipped in with six points.
 
Ultimately, foul shooting proved costly to King's as the Lady Monarchs made just 23-of-42 shots from the charity stripe while Neumann converted 30-of-40.

Brittany Whetts paced Neumann with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
 
King's will return to action Friday when the Lady Monarchs compete in the prestigious three-day Marymount Tip-Off Classic in Arlington, Va.
 
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