FEBRUARY 16, 2009
KING'S WOMEN FALL TO MANHATTANVILLE, SECURE FREEDOM PLAYOFF BERTH WITH LOSS
PURCHASE, NY -- Host Manhattanvile College shot a scorching 54.1 percent from the field to build a 46-30 halftime lead as the Valiants posted a 77-62 victory over King's College in a Freedom Conference matchup Tuesday in Purchase, NY.
With the win, Manhattanville improved t0 15-9 overall and 11.4 in Freedom Conference action. King's, meanwhile, slipped to 9-15 and 7-8 in league play.
Despite the loss, King's clinched a spot in the Freedom Conference playoffs thanks to host FDU-Florham dropping a 78-55 verdict to Alvernia on its home court in Madison, NJ Tuesday evening. King's stands in a fourth-place tie with Misericordia, which lost to Wilkes 49-43 in overtime.
The Valiants raced out to a 16-point first half lead by making 20-of-33 shots over the first 20 minutes of play. Nina Johnson led the way for Manhattanville by scoring all 14 of her points in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting. Simona Gordan tallied 10 of her points for the Valiants in the first half.
King's, meanwhile, struggled from the field in the first half, making just 34.6 (9-20) percent of it's shots.
Freshman guard Paige Carlin led the Lady Monarchs with 15 points and nine rebounds while fellow rookie guard Nina Magan came off the bench to net a career-high 13 points. Juliana Lynott added nine points and five boards while Abby Malloy netted eight points. Freshman point-guard Brittany Muscatell handed out three assists to register her 101st helper on the year, becoming the first freshman to reach the 100-assist plateau since Elaine Colyer distributed 110 in 1995-96. King's leading scorer Kaitlyn Fiorino was held to just seven points on 2-of-14 shooting for the game.
The Lady Monarchs will close out the regular-season Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. home contest against Eastern University in Scandlon Gymnasium.
