Box Score
FEBRUARY 16, 2013

KING'S WOMEN WRAP UP REGULAR-SEASON WITH 67-54 WIN AS MICHAELS NETS 1,000TH POINT

WILKES-BARRE — Senior point-guard Katlin Michaels scored her 1,000th career points and the King's College women's basketball team continued its dominance over cross-town rival Wilkes University, posting its 29th victory in the last 30 meetings between the cross-town rivals as the Lady Monarchs registered a 67-54 Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

With the win, King's improved to 20-5 and 12-2 overall entering the post-season. The Lady Monarchs finished in a first-place tie in the Freedom Conference with FDU-Florham after the Devils were upset Saturday on its home floor by a 69-67 count to Delaware Valley College. King's and FDU finish with identical 12-2 league marks but FDU is awarded the top-seed in this week's Freedom Conference Tournament by virtue of a league tiebreaker.

King's came out on fire as Celia Rader drained two three-pointers to start the game, followed by a bucket from Lindsay Atchison and another three-pointer by Molly Dahl to put the Lady Monarchs on top 11-0 just 3:01 into the game. After Wilkes drew to within 15-7, a Jennifer Fabian foul sot and a driving lay-up by Michaels pushed the score to 18-7 at the 13:20 mark.

But King's went cold and Wilkes slowly chipped away. The Lady Monarchs missed their next 20 shots and the Lady Colonels capitalized, drawing to within 20-18 with 6:32 left in the half.  King's finally got back on the board at 4:21 when Michaels scored her 1,000th points by converting a traditional three-point play at the 4:12 mark to give King's a 23-18 lead after its first points in nearly five minutes. Wilkes continued to fight back and later tied the score at 23-23 on a Megan Kazmerski driving lay-up with 2:08 on the clock.

King's used a 5-0 spurt to take a 28-23 advantage with 0:24 to go on two straight Fabian inside baskets and one-of-tw free throws by Atchison, but Wilkes countered with a Lindsey Chester basket at 0:02 to bring the Lady Colonels to within 28-25 at the break.

The second half started the same as the first as Rader buried a three-pointer but Wilkes responded with a 8-2 run to take a 35-33 lead after  Kazmerski three-pointer and a short jumper by Amanda Pawlowski with 15:47 remaining.

It would mark Wilkes' only lead of the day as King's regrouped and put together a 10-0 run to take a 43-35 lead with 12:45 to play after four straight Atchison points. After a Wilkes bucket, King's again responded, this time with a 11-2 run to stretch the lead to 54-39 with 8:34 left.

A Palmieri jumper trimmed the King's lead to 54-41 but once again the Lady Monarchs surged forward, this time with a  9-2 surge to build a 63-43 lead with 3:46 to play after a three-pointer from Meagan Boccio and one-of-two foul shots by Michaels. King's would clear the bench shortly thereafter as the Lady Monarch reserves played out the string.

Rader led King's with a team-high 20 points and four rebounds, connecting on five three-pointers, the third highest single-seaosn total in King's history. Michaels, meanwhile, finished with 13 points, 10 assists, and four steals to post her eighth double-double of the year, including three straight to end the regular-season.  She also became just the third player in King's history to combine for 1,000 points and 400 assists in a career.

Atchison added 11 points and seven rebounds; Dahl contributed seven points and 10 boards; while Fabian tallied five points and eight boards. It also marked the final regular-season game for King's seniors Michaels, Rader, Atchison, Dahl, and Kyley Henry who were honored before the game.

For Wilkes, Stambone scored a game-high 23 points as the lone Lady Colonel to reach the double-digit mark.  Stambone, however, was held to just five in the second half after tallying 18 over the first 18 minutes of play. Palmerio followed with eight points  while Ellen Rich added four points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. Ginny Edwards chipped in with three points and a game-gigh 15 boards.

King's will host third-seeded DeSales University in the Freedom Conference Tournament semi-finals Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.