JANUARY 24, 2012

KING'S-MISERICORDIA WOMEN SET FOR WEDNESDAY FREEDOM CONFERENCE SHOWDOWN, KING'S WIN GIVES LADY MONARCHS TWO-GAME LEAD IN FREEDOM WHILE MISERI WON FORGES 1ST PLACE TIE BETWEEN SQUADS - WEAR WHITE

WILKES-BARRE --  When the King's College women's basketball team faces local rival Misericordia University in an important Freedom Conference matchup Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium, one of two outcomes will occur.  With a win, first-place King's will give itself a two-game lead ahead of the rest of the Freedom Conference. With a loss, King's will slip into a first-place tie for the league lead with Misericordia.

Fans unable to attend can follow the game on LiveStats at the following link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/wbball/index.htm

King's student radio station WRKC 88.5 FM will broadcast the game and will also provide a voice stream of the broadcast over the Internet. Fans can listed to the WRKC voice stream at:  
http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html

King's student activities is organizing a Whiteout and all King's fans are asked to wear whote to spoort the squad.

The significance of the first meeting of the season between the two squads cannot be understated in a Freedom Conference that has seen incredibly close finishes in the conference standings in recent years. Last season King's was locked in a three-way tie for first place in the final Freedom Conference regular-season standings with DeSales and Manhattanville while Misericordia stood just a game behind. 

With the Freedom Conference preparing to begin its second cycle of league games on Saturday, King's has an opportunity to create a bit of distance if the Lady Monarchs can close out its first swing around the Conference with a win over a talented, veteran Cougar squad.

King's enters the matchup with a 14-3 record and stands at 6-0 in the Freedom Conference after a big 51-49 road win at Manhattanville on Saturday. The Lady Monarchs take a seven-game winning streak into the matchup.

Misericorda, meanwhile, is  9-7 overall and 5-1 in conference games.  The Cougars posted an impressive 56-49 home win over reigning Freedom Conference champion DeSales on Saturday before downing non-conference foe Marywood 74-57 Monday night in Scranton. Misericordia enters the contest with a five-game winning streak.

Since Misericordia joined the Freedom Conference in 2008-09 after leaving the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, the teams have played seven times with King's holding a slim 4-3. The teams split last season's contests with each team winning on its home court.

King's has been paced by senior forward Samantha Simcox who averages 12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.2 steals per-game while connecting on 24 three-pointers. Senior guard Paige Carlin follows with 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while junior guard Celia Rader adds 10.4 points and a team-high 34 three-pointers. Junior guard Katlin Michaels tallies 9.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.3 steals each contest.

Six-foot freshman center Marissa Manning contributes 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while junior forward Lindsay Atchison has registered 6.0 points and 3.5 boards. Senior guard Brittany Muscatell chips in with 4.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.6 per-game. King's averages 66.8 points per-game while yielding just 57.2 points each contest.

The Cougars counter with reigning Freedom Conference player of the year Christine Marks who recently became Misericordia's career leader in scoring and rebounding. After a 36-point, 17-rebound efforts against Marywood, Marks has totaled 1,452 points and 776 rebounds in her collegiate career. She currently tops Misericordia with 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per-game.

Junior guard Hannah Seely follows with 11.7 points and 7.3 boards while junior guard Tyann McDanie adds 11.1 points and 3.3 assists with 35 three-pointers. Senior forward Jesse Robinson contributes with 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while Kayla Sileo chips in with 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.  Misericordia is averaging 66.4 points per-game while allowing 57.1 each contest.

King's will return to action Saturday when the second cycle of Freedom Conference games begin. The Lady Monarchs will host defending champion DeSales at 1:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gym. The game will be preceded by King's annual Women's Basketball Alumni Game set for 10:00 a.m.