NOVEMBER 14, 2014

KING'S WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM TO OPEN SEASON SATURDAY AT NEUMANN TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College women's basketball team will begin the 2014-15 campaign on Saturday when the Lady Monarchs compete in the Neumann University Tip-Off Tournament in Aston.

King's will play Wesley College at 3:00 p.m. in its opening game. The Lady Monarchs will then play Sunday against either host Neumann or Rutgers Camden. The consolation game is 2:00 p.m. With the championship contest set for 4:00 p.m.

Fans unable to attend can follow the action on LiveStats at the following link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/neumann/wbball/

After two straight trips to the Freedom Conference title game in 2012 and 2013, King's suffered heavy graduation losses and last year finished 7-18 with a starting line-up that included three freshman, one sophomore, and one junior for much of the season.  Now a year older and wiser, King's is hoping the experience gained last year will translate into the squad making a return trip to the Freedom Conference playoffs.
 

Leading King's into the season is senior forward Marissa Manning who topped team in scoring with 14.1 points per game and had 7.2 rebounds per game last season. After missing most of her sophomore year with an injury, Manning has 670 points to her credit.

Sophomore forward Kayla Feairheller enjoyed a solid freshman season and was a 2014 All-Freedom Conference honorable mention choice as a rookie. Feairheller started all 25 games and averaged 12.8 points per-game with 6.0 rebounds and possesses the ability to hit the outside shot or drive to the basket.  Junior forward Jennifer Fabian is also back after averaging 10.6 points along with a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Kasey Seitz started all 25 games last year as a freshman and averaged 5.8 points per game and 4.2 rebounds while registering a team-high 92 assists. Sophomore guard Shae Grim started nine of the 15 games she played in before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Grim averaged 8.5 points and 3.7 rebounds prior to her injury. 

 

Junior forward Tara Zdancewicz played in all 25 games and averaged 3.9 points per game and 2.8 rebounds off the bench for the Monarchs last year. Other returning players include junior guard Katie Dugan, junior guard Sara Krupinski, and junior guard Taylor Sweeney.

Five freshman will look to make an impact this year include forward Olivia Hoffman, guard Hayleigh Hanson, guard Rachael DeTore, forward Maggie Michael, and forward Laura McGowan.

The 6-2 Hoffman adds size and shot blocking ability with the ability to run the floor and a virtually unblock able jump-hook in her arsenal.  .  Hanson is a capable three-point shooter while DeTore is adept at attacking the basket and is a strong mid-range shooter.  Michael, meanwhile, is a multi-purpose player who can defend and hit the mid-range jumper.  McGowan, a 6-footer, adds size and strength, but can also hit from three-point range.

King's will play a 25-game schedule which includes 14 Freedom Conference games. King's will play defending national champion FDU-Florham twice, and will also face 2014 NCAA national tournament qualifiers Ferrum College and the University of Scranton. The Lady Monarchs will also face its biggest challenge ever when the team plays defendingIvy League champion the University of Pennsylvania on New Year's eve day.