Box Score
JANUARY 18, 2012
KING'S WOMEN REMAIN UNBEATEN IN FREEDOM CONFERENCE WITH 68-47 WIN OVER CROSS-TOWN RIVAL WILKES
WILKES-BARRE — It wasn't a masterpiece but in the end it was a victory. The King's College women's basketball team broke open a 26-22 game at the half to outscore visiting Wilkes University 42-25 over the final 20 minutes of play as the Lady Monarchs remained the only unbeaten team in the Freedom Conference with a hard-fought 68-47 victory over their cross-town rival Wednesday night in Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the win, King's improved to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the Freedom Conference with its six straight victory. In the process, the Lady Monarchs posted their 27th win in the last 28 meetings with Wilkes. The Lady Colonels, meanwhile, fell to 4-11 and 0-5 in league play with its eighth straight loss. Wilkes, however, played inspired basketball and stayed with King's for much of the game.
King's raced out to a 6-2 lead after a short jumper by
Samantha Simcox and four straight point by
Marissa Manning. King's, however, would struggle mightily from the field and scored just three points over the next nine minutes of play. Wilkes fared slightly better from the field and eventually took a 12-9 lead 9:34 remaining in the first half.
With both teams continuing their shooting woes, Wilkes tied the score at 14-14 with 5:17 remaining in the opening stanza on an Elena Stambone jumper. But
Celia Rader drained a three-pointer and Simcox scored on a steal and lay-up to give the Lady Monarchs a 19-14 lead at the 4:29 mark. King's later upped the lead to 24-18 on Rader's third three-pointer of the half with 2:26 on the clock. Wilkes again fought back and trimmed the lead to 24-22 on a Stambone bucket with 0:18 to play, but
Paige Carlin scored for Kings just before the buzzer as the Lady Monarchs took a 26-22 lead into the break.
King's made just 25.6 (10-39) percent of its shots in the opening half, including a pedestrian 3-of-16 from three-point range. The Lady Monarch also hurt themselves from the foul line, making just three of 10 free throws. Wilkes, also shoot poorly, converting 31.0 (9-29) percent from the floor and were 1-of-7 from the three-point line.
In the second half, Wilkes came out of the locker room and went on a 7-3 spurt to tie the score at 29-29 with 16:50 left in the contest. King's, however, countered with a 9-0 run on the strength of seven points from Simcox and a driving lay-up
Paige Carlin to take 38-29 led with 13:49 to go.
Wilkes again fought back and cut the score to 38-33 on a Ginny Edwards jumper with 12:56 remaining, but King's would finally turn on the jets. A three-pointer by Rader and one of two foul shots from
Lindsay Atchison pushed the score to 42-33 at the 11:27 mark. Three-pointers by Simcox and
Molly Dahl and another driving lay-up from Simcox upped the lead to 55-35 with 6:19 to play. After a Wilkes bucket, Simcox buried another three-pointer to push the score to 58-37 with 5:36 remaining. King's substitutes would enter the game and provided the Lady Monarchs with their biggest lead of the night when
Nina Magan buried a long three-pointer for a 66-41 lead with 3:29 remaining. Wilkes would draw no closer than 19 points the rest of the way.
Simcox, who began her collegiate career at Wilkes before transferring to King's last season, led the Lady Monarchs with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Rader followed with 13 points and four three-pointers while Carlin added 11 points and six boards. Manning contributed eight points and six boards while
Katlin Michaels chipped with an excellent floor game, tallying with five points, five rebounds, eight assists, and five steals.
King's forced Wilkes into 26 turnovers while committing just 13 themselves. The Lady Monarchs registered 17 steals and was rewarded for fine passing as the team accumulated 19 assists in 24 field goals. The Lady Monarchs did manage to shoot 37.8 (14-37) percent in the second half.
The Lady Monarchs return to action Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. matchup at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.
KING'S COLLEGE 68, WILKES UNIVERSITY 47
WILKES (4-11, 0-5)
Elena Stambone 7-12 0-0 17; Megan Kazmerski 5-16 0-0 11; Allison Walsh 2-6 2-2 6; Whitney Connolly 2-2 0-0 4; Angela Palmerio 2-8 0-0 4; Amanda Pawlowski 0-1 3-3 3; Ginny Edwards 1-6 0-2 2; Larissa Forese 0-1 0-0 0; Chelsea Brown 0-1 0-0 0; Besiana Sheshi 0-2 0-0 0; Megan Dragan 0-0 0-2 0; Kate Thomas 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 5-9 47.
KING'S COLLEGE (13-3, 5-0)
Samantha Simcox 8-18 0-0 19;
Celia Rader 4-14 1-3 13;
Paige Carlin 4-8 3-4 11;
Marissa Manning 3-7 2-4 8;
Katlin Michaels 2-6 1-2 5;
Molly Dahl 2-3 0-0 5;
Nina Magan 1-1 0-0 3;
Cassie Erdmann 0-1 2-2 2;
Lindsay Atchison 0-6 2-4 2;
Alicia Hayes 0-1 0-0 0;
Abby Malloy 0-4 0-0 0;
Kyley Henry 0-2 0-0 0;
Cassie Flaherty 0-0 0-0 0;
Brittany Muscatell 0-4 0-0 0;
Ashley Davies 0-1 0-4 0;
Jessica McHugh 0-0 0-0 0;
Meagan Boccio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-76 11-23 68.
Wilkes........................ 22 25 - 47
King's…….................. 26 42 - 68
3-point goals--Wilkes 4-18 (Elena Stambone 3-5; Megan Kazmerski 1-8; Angela Palmerio 0-1; Amanda Pawlowski 0-1; Larissa Forese 0-1; Besiana Sheshi 0-1; Kate Thomas 0-1), King's College 9-36 (
Celia Rader 4-10;
Samantha Simcox 3-5;
Nina Magan 1-1;
Molly Dahl 1-2;
Cassie Erdmann 0-1;
Lindsay Atchison 0-4;
Alicia Hayes 0-1;
Abby Malloy 0-2;
Kyley Henry 0-2;
Brittany Muscatell 0-4;
Katlin Michaels 0-2;
Paige Carlin 0-2). Fouled out--Wilkes-None, King's College-None. Rebounds--Wilkes 47 (Allison Walsh 11), King's College 55 (
Lindsay Atchison 9). Assists--Wilkes 10 (Amanda Pawlowski 4), King's College 19 (
Katlin Michaels 8). Total fouls--Wilkes 14, King's College 9. Technical fouls--Wilkes-None, King's College-None. A-677
