Box Score
FEBRUARY 23, 2013

KING'S WOMEN FALL TO FDU-FLORHAM IN FREEDOM TITLE GAME

MADISON, NJ – Sophomore forward Kyra Dayon scored 28 points and freshman center Rachel Groom added 22 as the top-seeded FDU-Florham women's basketball team posted a 76-64 victory over second-seeded King's College in the Freedom Conference championship game Saturday in the Ferguson Center in Madison, NJ.

With the win, FDU improved to 24-3 on the year and receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament. King's, meanwhile, saw its seven-game win streak come to an end as the Lady Monarchs fell to 21-6 and will hang its hopes on a possible NCAA at-large berth. The NCAA will announce the national tournament field on Monday.

Entering the game, Lady Monarch coach Brian Donoghue emphasized his team needed to avoid turnovers. Donoghue's foresight proved accurate as King's dug itself into an early hole. The Lady Monarchs entered the game among the national leaders in turning the ball over just 13.2 times per-game. Against the Devils, however, the Lady Monarchs committed 13 turnovers in the first half.

FDU took advantage of the extra possessions. The Devils raced out to a 18-6 lead at the 11:37 mark before King's started to chip away. The Lady Monarchs got the lead down to six points on two occasions but the Devils responded with key shots to maintain leads ranging from to 11 points. King's managed to trim the lead to six points when Katlin Michaels converted a traditional three-point play with 3:21 left in the half. But FDU ended the opening stanza with a 9-2 spurt to give the Devils a 38-29 lead at the break.

Celia Rader kept King's in the game with 12 first-half points on four three-pointers. FDU received a big first-half effort from Groom as the left-handed rookie scored 14 points and got King's starting post players Jen Fabian and Lindsay Atchison in foul trouble with three and two fouls respectively.

In the second half King's used an early run to cut the score to 42-37 on an offensive rebound and bucket from Molly Dahl with 15:55 to play. But FDU countered with a decisive 12-0 run to build a 54-37 lead with 12:56 to play. King's would never recover.

FDU maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way as the Lady Monarchs cut the lead to 12 points on three occasions would draw no closer.

Dayon was outstanding, particularly in the second half where she scored 17 of her 28 points. Dayon had only connected on 17 three-pointers during the season but hit on four in the game. She was also able to get the foul line, hitting on 8-of-10 shots from the charity stripe.

Rader finished the game with 18 points on six three-pointers while Atchison also had 18 points with seven rebounds. Michaels added a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists while Dahl finished with six points and 11 boards.

In all, the Lady Monarchs enjoyed an outstanding season when one factors  in the team lost starting center Marissa Manning and starting small forward Ashley Davies with season ending injuries in December and early January respectively. The Lady Monarchs went 16-2 after the new year and 13-2 when both Manning and Davies were out of the lineup.


FDU-FLORHAM 76, KING'S COLLEGE 64

KING'S COLLEGE (21-6)
Celia Rader 6-11 0-0 18; Lindsay Atchison 7-15 1-2 18; Katlin Michaels 4-17
2-4 11; Jennifer Fabian 4-7 0-0 8; Molly Dahl 2-6 2-2 6; Tiffany O'Donnell
1-6 0-0 3; Kyley Henry 0-2 0-0 0; Jessica McHugh 0-0 0-0 0; Tara Zdancewicz
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-64 5-8 64.

FDU-FLORHAM (24-3)
Kyra Dayon 8-15 8-10 28; Rachel Groom 7-14 8-8 22; Kara Dayon 3-7 0-0 9;
Jalessa Lewis 3-7 1-2 8; Delisha Thompson 3-5 0-0 6; Leigh-Ann Lively 1-6
0-0 3; Quaneshia Harris 0-0 0-0 0; Robin Peoples 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54
17-20 76.

King's College................. 29 35 - 64
FDU-Florham................... 38 38 - 76

3-point goals--King's College 11-30 (Celia Rader 6-9; Lindsay Atchison 3-5;
Tiffany O'Donnell 1-6; Katlin Michaels 1-6; Kyley Henry 0-2; Molly Dahl
0-2), FDU-Florham 9-21 (Kyra Dayon 4-6; Kara Dayon 3-6; Jalessa Lewis 1-4;
Leigh-Ann Lively 1-5). Fouled out--King's College-None, FDU-Florham-None.
Rebounds--King's College 38 (Molly Dahl 11), FDU-Florham 36 (Kyra Dayon 11).
Assists--King's College 16 (Katlin Michaels 11), FDU-Florham 15 (Jalessa
Lewis 7). Total fouls--King's College 16, FDU-Florham 12. Technical
fouls--King's College-None, FDU-Florham-None. A-672

Freedom Conference Tournament Championship Game
#2 King's at #1 FDU-Florham
FDU advances to the NCAA Tournament
Sophomore forward Kyra Dayon named Tournament MVP