FEBRUARY 25, 2009
LADY MONARCH BASKETBALL TEAM HEADING TO DESALES FOR FREEDOM CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS
(Winner to Play for Freedom Conference Title, NCAA Tournament Automatic Berth)
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College women's basketball team will look to earn a spot in the Freedom Conference championship game when the Lady Monarchs travel to Center Valley for a semi-final matchup with defending champion and top-seeded DeSales University tonight (Wednesday) at 6:00 p.m. in Billera Hall.
Tickets have been set by the Middle Atlantic Conference Office at $6.00 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2.00 for students. Children under age-six will be admitted free.
King's student radio station, WRKC 88.5 FM will broadcast the game live over the air and on the Internet. To listen to the broadcast on the Internet, go to http://www.kings.edu/IITS/index.htm and click on the WRKC LIVE link on the right side of the page.
Those unable to attend the game can also follow the action over the Internet on LiveStats, a computer-generated program which displays live statistics and play-by-play as the game progresses. To access the link, go to http://sidearmstats.com/desales/wbball/
King's, which has qualified for a post-season playoff berth for the 15th straight season, entered the five-team tournament as the fifth seed and posted a 59-50 first-round victory over fourth-seeded Misericordia University on Monday. The Lady Monarchs take a 11-15 record into their matchup with DeSales, which finished the regular-season with a 21-4 overall record and a 15-1 conference mark. The Bulldogs, who enter the matchup ranked 23rd nationally in Division III according to D3Hoops.com, swept both games in their regular-season series with King's. DeSales won the first matchup 64-44 in Center Valley on January 21, then garnered a 66-42 triumph in Wilkes-Barre on February 11. As the top seed in the playoffs, DeSales received a first-round bye.
King's is led by the play of 2008 All-Freedom Conference selection Kaitlyn Fiorino, a 5-8 senior guard who tops the Lady Monarchs with 16.4 points and 4.2 rebounds while her 76 three-pointers leads the Freedom Conference while standing second in King's single-season history. Fiorino, who owns the Lady Monarch career record with 257 treys, has made at least one three-pointer in 28 consecutive games dating back to the 2007-08 season.
Also aiding the Lady Monarch cause is junior forward Kaitlyn Malshefski who follows with 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while converting 23 three-pointers. Freshman point-guard Brittany Muscatell follows with 6.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per-game. Her 113 assists on the season is a freshman record, surpassing the previous mark of 110 set by Elaine Colyer in 1995-96.
Junior guard Jessica Paettie, who missed nine games with an early-season injury, has given the Lady Monarchs a lift off the bench, scoring 6.4 points per-game, including 27 three-pointers. She netted 12 points, including three three-pointers in the opening round win over Misericordia. Fellow freshman guard Paige Carlin adds 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds with 30 steals. Freshman forward Julianna Lynott chips in with 5.0 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds while posting a team-high four double-doubles. King's averages 58.7 points per-game while allowing 62.5 each contest.
DeSales is led by 2008 Freedom Conference “Player of the Year” LeighAnn Burke, a senior guard who was recently named a finalist for the Josten's Division III National “Player of the Year” Award. The 5-8 Burke tops the Bulldogs with 20.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.7 assists while standing second in the Freedom Conference behind Fiorino with 69 three-pointers.
The Bulldogs may have to deal with an injury to a key player as 2008 All-Freedom Conference point-guard Kim Rarick is questionable for the game. Rarick suffered a fractured wrist February 17 against Delaware Valley and did not play in DeSales' regular-season finale Saturday against Alvernia. Rarick, who teams with Burke to give the Bulldogs one of the top back-court combinations in all of Division III, averages 14.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.2 steals, while making 27 three-pointers. She averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 steals, and 2.5 assists in the two games against King's this season.
Also aiding the DeSales attack is 5-11 power forward Caitlin Miller who averages 7.9 and 9.3 rebounds per-game. Junior forward Kaila Wiand adds 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds with 24 three-pointers while freshman forward Cherelle Simmons contributes 5.0 points and 5.5 boards. The Bulldogs lead the Freedom Conference in scoring with a 73.3 points per-game average while ranking second defensively, allowing just 55.9 points each contest.
The winner of the King's-DeSales matchup will play for the Freedom Conference championship against the winner of the other semi-final pairing between second-seeded Manhattanville (16-9) and third-seeded Alvernia ( 17-8). The title game will be played at the site of the highest remaining seed.
King's Game Facts:
> King's and DeSales have played 27 games since the Bulldogs joined the MAC in 1998-99. King's holds a 14-13 lead in the series during this time.
> The two teams have played six times in the Freedom Conference Tournament with King's holding a 4-2 advantage.
> King's-DeSales last playoff meeting was in the 2007 Freedom semi-finals, a game which King's won at home 83-78.
> King's won the last post-season meeting at DeSales by a 58-41 score in the 2004 Freedom Conference semi-finals.
> King's last victory at DeSales was 78-73 in 2005-06 (regular-season).
> King's has won two Freedom Conference championships – 2001 and 2003.
> The Lady Monarchs finished second in the Freedom Conference Tournament in 2000, 2004, and 2007.
> King's ranks seventh in Freedom Conference scoring (58.7) and fifth in defense (62.5).
> The Lady Monarchs are second in the Freedom Conference in three-point field goals per-game (6.19), trailing only DeSales (6.32).
King's-DeSales in total Freedom Conference Games
Year W - L
2007-08 0 - 2
2006-07 2 - 1
2005-06 2 - 0
2004-05 1 - 2
2003-04 1 - 2
2002-03 2 - 1
2001-02 1 - 1
2000-01 3 - 0
1999-00 1 - 3
1998-99 1 - 1
Totals 14 - 13
King's leads 14-13
King's-DeSales Post-Season Playoff History
Year W - L
2006-07 1* - 0
2004-05 0 - 1*
2003-04 1* - 0
2002-03 1* - 0
2000-01 1* - 0
1999-00 1# - 1*
Totals: 4 - 2 (Freedom Playoff Games)
5 - 2 (Overall Post-Season Meetings)
*Freedom Conference Tournament
#NCAA Division III Tournament
