NOVEMBER 22, 2010
KING'S, SCRANTON WOMEN TO RENEW LONG-TIME RIVALRY ON TUESDAY
WILKES-BARRE — Fresh off winning the Pepsi/Weis Markets Invitational Sunday at Susquehanna University, the King's College women's basketball team will look to carry that momentum into its next game when the Lady Monarchs renew a long-time rivalry with the University of Scranton. The teams square off Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the John Long Center.
Fans unable to attend can follow the game on LiveStats at the following link:
http://academic.scranton.edu/department/athletics/xlive.htm
Scranton's radio station WUSR will also provide a radio/Internet voicestream broadcast of the game live at the following link:
http://academic.scranton.edu/organization/wusr/
Since the early 1970's, the King's and Scranton women's basketball teams had been accustomed to facing one another on the hardwood twice a year. Then, suddenly, the rivalry halted.
During the 2006-07 academic year, Scranton's administration made the controversial decision to leave the Middle Atlantic Conference to join the newly-formed Landmark Conference in a move that surprised virtually every school in the MAC. The teams last played in the 2007 Freedom Conference championship game, won by Scranton 79-63.
For the past three seasons, the teams have not played. In the process, the familiarity of the two programs as decreased. Not a single current player on King's roster has ever faced Scranton, a fact that would have seemed impossible considering the history between the programs.
In this first meeting in three years, King's enters the matchup with a 2-1 record and come off winning the Pepsi/Weis Markets Invitational at Susquehanna University over the weekend. The Lady Monarchs downed Pitt-Bradford 60-54 in the tourney opener before besting Susquehanna 88-79 in the title game. King's fell to Neumann 71-47 in its season opener on Thursday
Scranton, meanwhile, stands at 1-2 in the early going after losing both games at the Starters Pub Invitational, falling to William Paterson 71-62 in the opener, then 77-63 to DeSales in the consolation game. The Lady Royals defeated Montclair State 58-46 in the team's season opener last Tuesday.
King's has been paced thus far by sophomore guard Celia Rader. A graduate of Scranton Prep, Rader is the only player on the Lady Monarch roster with a better-than-average knowledge of the King's-Scranton rivalry. She comes into the game leading the Lady Monarchs with 17.0 points and 3.3 rebounds while connecting on seven three-pointers. Sophomore center Molly Dahl follows with 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds while junior small forward Paige Carlin adds 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.
Sophomore guard Katlin Michaels has tallied 8.7 points and 4.7 boards while sophomore forward Lindsay Atchison contributes with 7.7 points and 8.0 rebounds. Junior point-guard Brittany Muscatell has posted 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, while junior forward Samantha Simcox chips in with 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Scranton is paced by senior guard Megan Kopecki who is averaging 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 steals, and 3.3 assists per-game. Senior guard Jennifer King, whose older brother David, played for King's men's team from 2005-2007, follows with averages of 8.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while making four three-pointers.
Freshman guard Katie Cunningham tallied 9.0 points while freshman guard Alison Sweeney adds 6.7 points and 2.0 steals. Senior guard Colleen McLane posts 5.7 points and 2.7 rebounds while sophomore forward Taylor Pallotta chips in with 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
After concluding its game with Scranton, the Lady Monarchs will be off for Thanksgiving break and will resume play on November 29 with a 6:00 p.m. Matchup in Chester against Widener University.
