NOVEMBER 17, 2011

KING'S WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM FACING NEW YORK POLYTECHNIC IN OPENING ROUND OF RUTGERS-NEWARK TOURNAMENT

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College women's basketball team will return to the hardwood on Friday when the Lady Monarchs compete in the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic in Golden Dome Arena on the campus of Rutgers-Newark University, Newark, N.J. 

King's will face New York Polytechnic University in the 8:00 p.m. tournament nightcap while host Rutgers-Newark will play Lehman University in the 6:00 p.m. tournament opener. The event concludes Saturday with the consolation game being played at 4:00 p.m. and the title contest set for 6:00 p.m.

The tournament will feature a competitive field of four teams that each reached the 2011 post-season and combined for 65 wins. King's, in fact, posted the fewest number of wins among the tournament squads as the Lady Monarchs were 16-10. Polytechnic was 19-10; Rutgers-Newark finished 19-8; while Lehman was 20-11.

King's enters the event with a 1-0 record following an 86-66 victory over Mt. Aloysius College on Tuesday while New York Polytechnic is also 1-0 following a 67-41 victory over Philadelphia Biblical University, also on Tuesday night.  Rutgers-Newark is 1-0 this season after a 78-32 route of Medgar Evers in the Scarlet Raiders season-opener on Tuesday.  Lehman, meanwhile, is 0-1 after dropping a 75-54 verdict to The College of New Jersey Tuesday night.

The Lady Monarchs, who reached the semi-finals of the Freedom Conference Tournament last year, enjoyed a solid season-opening win in which 11 different players reached the scoring column. Senior Sammie Simcox led the way with 27 points and 13 rebounds while junior guard Celia Rader and freshman center Marissa Manning added 12 points each.  Junior guard Katlin Michaels tallied seven points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in the game to aid the Lady Monarch cause.

Polytechnic, meanwhile, reached the semi-finals of the Skyline Conference Tournament. The Lady Jays also received a berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships. Polytechnic will be led by reigning Skyline Conference "Player of the Year" Margaux Pickell, a 6-foot forward, who averaged  18.5 points and 14.6 rebounds per-game.

Host Rutgers-Newark finished second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament a season ago. The Scarlet Raiders were also awarded an ECAC Tournament berth. Sophomore forward Jasmine Daniels led the way against Medger-Evers with 14 points, five steals, and four rebounds. Freshman forward Arianna Williams tallied 14 points with three steals while sophomore guard ShaQuanna Marshall added 11 points with nine steals and five assists.

Lehman also enjoyed a strong 2010-11 campaign, finishing second in the City University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament but rebounded to win the ECAC Metro Tournament title. In its season-opening loss, 6-foot-1 senior center Shatasia Little posted nine points and six rebounds while 6-foot-1 junior center Alicia McDaniel added eight points and five boards.

Following the tournament, King's will return to action Tuesday when the Lady Monarchs play host to traditional Division III power University of Scranton Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.