KING'S MEN'S/WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS OPEN FREEDOM PLAY WEDNESDAY AT EASTERN, VIEW LIVESTATS
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College men's and women's basketball teams will open their 2010-2011 Freedom Conference schedules Wednesday with a trip to St. David's, Pa. for a doubleheader matchup with Eastern University. The women's game is set for 6:00 p.m. with the men's contest to follow at 8:00 p.m.
Eastern will also be collecting Toys for Tots to provide underprivileged children with toys for the holidays. Those bringing a wrapped toy will be admitted to the games free of charge. Fans unable to attend can follow both games through livestats at the following link: http://www.goeasterneagles.com/livestats/.
The Lady Monarchs begin league play with a 2-3 overall record following a tough 95-88 overtime loss at Widener University on Monday. King's is led by the scoring duo of sophomore guard Celia Rader (13.6 ppg) and junior forward Paige Carlin (13.2 ppg). Carlin enjoyed her finest outing of the season against the Pride finishing with 28 points, including a 14-of-18 performance from the charity stripe. Rader has been the most consistent threat from the outside, canning a team-high nine three-pointers on the year. Sophomore guard Kaitlin Michaels adds 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds, while sophomore guard Lindsay Atchison posts 8.2 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds. The Lady Monarchs average 66.6 points per-game, while allowing 77.2 points per-contest.
Eastern enters their league opener standing 4-1 overall after a 58-57 win against Arcadia University on Monday. Shante Jones leads the Eagles offensively averaging 21.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. Bekah Roland follows with 17.0 points and 9.6 rebounds. Katie Lincoln rounds out the double figure scorers averaging 11.2 points, shooting 9-for-19 from behind the arc. As a squad, the Eagles average 71.0 points, while yielding 69.0 points per-game.
Since Eastern has joined the Freedom Conference in 2008-09, King's has never lost to the Eagles posting four straight wins. The Lady Monarchs posted a home/away sweep last season, recording a 75-48 victory in Wilkes-Barre, before posting a 57-47 win in St. David's.
The Monarchs enter their Freedom debut with a 2-2 overall record after suffering a 61-53 loss at Muhlenberg College on Monday. Senior forward Kevin Conroy leads King's averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds. Freshman guard Kyle Hammonds is off to a quick start averaging 9.8 points and 2.3 rebounds through the first four games of his young career. Sophomore guard Matt Fiorino has been a consistent spark off the Monarch bench posting 9.5 points on 5-for-12 shooting from three-point range. Junior point-guard Kyle Stackhouse adds 8.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, ranking second in the Freedom Conference in rebounds. King's averages 60.8 points per-game, while giving up 62.0 points per-contest.
Eastern comes into their league debut with a 4-1 overall mark after their first setback of the year on Monday, a 73-67 defeat at Ursinus College. Alex Nelson, the Freedom Conference leading scorer, leads the attack posting 21.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per-clip. Dan Miller follows posting 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds, while Collin Whipple adds 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. The Eagles average 66.8 points, while yielding 55.0 points per-tilt.
Eastern owns a 4-1 mark against King's in a series that dates back to the 2001-2002 season. The Eagles have posted four straight wins against the Monarchs since joining the conference two seasons ago, including a home/away sweep last season.
Following the games, both King's teams will continue their Freedom Conference slate when they host Manhattanville College in a doubleheader on Saturday. Tip-off for the women's game is set for 1:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium with the men's contest to follow at 3:00 p.m.
