KING'S WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GOES COLD IN 57-52 LOSS AT MISERICORDIA
DALLAS, PA – The King's College women's basketball team struggled through their worst shooting performance of the season, hitting just 22.6 percent of their field goal attempts, in a 57-52 loss at Freedom rival Misericordia University Wednesday night at the Anderson Center.
King's (11-6) suffers its first Freedom Conference defeat of the season, dropping to 5-1 on the year. Misericordia (10-6) improves to 5-1 in league games, moving into a tie for first place with the Lady Monarchs with one game left in the first half of the conference slate.
King's took their first lead of the contest at 7-6 following a Lindsay Atchison three-pointer at the 15:16 mark. The Cougars used a quick 5-0 spurt, capped off by a Christine Marks trey, to take a 11-7 advantage just two minutes later. Atchison continued to attack offensively for King's, rattling off five straight points to give the Lady Monarchs back the lead, 12-11, with 10:28 left in the first half. The teams would trade baskets before Misericordia's Tyann McDaniel connected from behind the arc to put the Cougars up 21-18 heading into the break.
King's scored only on three-pointers and free throws during the first twenty minutes of action, going 0-for-10 on two-point field goal attempts.
Misericordia opened the second frame with a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the contest, 31-18, with 16:36 remaining. The lead would swell to 16 points, 36-20, as King's continued to struggle shooting from the floor. The Lady Monarchs made their first two-point field goal of the game nine minutes into the second half during an 8-0 run that cut the Cougar lead to five, 36-31. Atchison drove the lane for a bucket before four straight free tosses from Molly Dahl. A Cougar miscue led to an easy layup in transition for Celia Rader to cap off the short burst.
Misericordia answered with another quick run, this time 10-2, to extend the lead to 46-32 with 6:28 left on the clock. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes of play before the Lady Monarchs were forced to foul. Misericordia went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the key home conference victory.
Rader led King's with 17 points and three rebounds. Atchison was the only other Lady Monarch in double figures finishing with 13 points and three rebounds. Dahl posted a solid game inside with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Katlin Michaels added seven points. King's struggled offensively throughout, as the starters went a combined 6-for-40 from the field. As a team, the Lady Monarchs scored just six two-point field goals and six three-point attempts. King's did go to the line 24 times, converting on 22 of their free attempts.
Misericordia saw three players reach double figures as McDaniel (17), Marks (15), and Jesse Robinson (13) led the charge. Marks added a game-high eight rebounds controlling the paint for the Cougars. Misericordia fared much better shooting from the floor, hitting 47.5 percent (19-40) of their attempts.
King's will continue Freedom play Saturday when they welcome DeSales University to Scandlon Gymnasium for a 1:00 p.m. matchup. The King's College women's basketball alumni game is also set for Saturday and will begin at 10:00 a.m.
MISERICORDIA 57, KING'S COLLEGE 52
KING'S COLLEGE (11-6, 5-1)
Celia Rader 5-8 5-6 17; Lindsay Atchison 4-15 2-2 13; Molly Dahl 0-2 8-8 8; Katlin Michaels 2-14 3-4 7; Paige Carlin 0-3 4-4 4; Abby Malloy 1-3 0-0 3; Carissa Gegaris 0-1 0-0 0; Brittany Muscatell 0-6 0-0 0; Samantha Simcox 0-1 0. Totals 12-53 22-24 52.
MISERICORDIA (10-6, 5-1)
Tyann McDaniel 5-11 2-3 17; Christine Marks 5-10 3-4 15; Jesse Robinson 5-7 3-3 13; Hannah Seely 1-5 4-4 6; Courtney Sykes 2-4 0-0 4; Katie Drayton 1-2 0-0 2; Lauren Smicherko 0-0 0-0 0; Kayla Sileo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-40 12-14 57.
King's College................ 18 34 - 52
Misericordia.................. 21 36 - 57
3-point goals--King's College 6-25 (Lindsay Atchison 3-9; Celia Rader 2-4; Abby Malloy 1-3; Paige Carlin 0-2; Carissa Gegaris 0-1; Brittany Muscatell 0-3; Katlin Michaels 0-3), Misericordia 7-14 (Tyann McDaniel 5-9; Christine Marks 2-2; Courtney Sykes 0-2; Katie Drayton 0-1). Fouled out--King's College-None, Misericordia-Courtney Sykes; Jesse Robinson. Rebounds--King's College 33 (Molly Dahl 7; Brittany Muscatell 7), Misericordia 31 (Christine Marks 8). Assists--King's College 6 (Brittany Muscatell 4), Misericordia 12 (Katie Drayton 5). Total fouls--King's College 13, Misericordia 18. Technical fouls--King's College-None, Misericordia-None. A-200
