WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 14, 2018) – Coming off an emphatic offensive outburst in a season-opening win over Gwynedd Mercy University Tuesday, the King's College women's basketball team will look to continue it strong start with two tough local match-ups this season. King's will battle preseason No. 8 University of Scranton Friday evening, before taking on Marywood University Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.

Event Details
Opponent: vs. No. 8 University of Scranton (0-0)
Date: Friday, November 16, 2018
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Scranton, PA at Marywood University – Insalaco Arena (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Opponent: at Marywood University (0-1)
Date: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Scranton, PA– Insalaco Arena (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: The King's College women's basketball team shot 50.0 percent from the field on Tuesday evening, while three players poured in 20 or more points to aid in an 86-81 road win over Gwynedd Mercy University in non-conference play from the Griffin Complex.

Mackenzie Yori finished the contest with a game and team-best 26 points, connecting on 10-of-17 from the floor including three of her five shots from behind the arc. The junior guard also dished out four assists and grabbed four steals in the win. Steeber finished with 21 points as well, going 7-of-16 on her field goal attempts while leading the team in rebounds with five. Prociak was efficient in her time on the floor, scoring 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting over 29 minutes of action.

Dippre added 11 points and tied for the team lead with four assists, and Dillinger posted six points, three rebounds and outstanding defense as usual over 28 minutes. King's was an even 30-for-60 from the field Tuesday evening, going 20-of-25 (80.0 percent) from the line. King's took advantage of GMU's mistakes, scoring 30 points off the Griffin's 24 turnovers. With all the makes Tuesday, there weren't a ton of rebounds to go around, but GMU did edge the Monarchs on the boards, 32-29.

A Look At The Monarchs (1-0):

• After one game, the Monarchs are tops in the conference in scoring with 86 points per game, shooting a league-best 50.0 percent.
• The Monarchs shoot a league-best 80 percent from the line after one contest, going 20-of-25 from the line against Gwynedd Mercy.
• King's had three scorers with 20 or more points on Tuesday, which was the first time since February 20, 2013 when Katlin Michaels, Jennifer Fabian and Celia Rader all posted 20 or more points in an 80-70 MAC Freedom semifinal win over DeSales.
• Yori leads the conference in scoring after her first contest with 26 points, while Alexis Steeber is third and Rebecca Prociak is fifth win her 20 points Tuesday.
• The King's women's team represents just two states this season, comprised of natives from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
• The 20 free throw makes on Tuesday at Gwynedd Mercy were the most for a Monarch team since making 30 of 40 back on January 21, 2017 against Wilkes University.
• With the win last night, King's has now won its season opener in three of the last four seasons.
• The 86-points Tuesday evening were the most since finishing the season with an 88-59 win February 20, 2016 against Wilkes University.

A Look At The No. 8 Royals (0-0):

• Scranton enters the 2018-19 campaign ranked in the top-10 in the country in a pair of polls as the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) selected the Lady Royals seventh entering the season, one spot ahead of the team's national preseason ranking of No. 8 by d3hoops.com.
• This season's roster features nine players who are either sophomores or freshmen with six players completely new to the program.
• Looking to help steer those young players in the right direction are senior guard Bridgette Mann, who will at the top of the scouting report for the Lady Royals' opponents.
• Mann was an All-American and All-Region selection last season after being named the Landmark Conference Player of the Year. On the court, Mann returns to high expectations as she was recently named a preseason first team All-American by d3hoops.com. 
• Mann was a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American and a Third Team All-American pick by d3hoops.com last season after averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from three-point range and 86 percent from the free throw line.  She needs just two more three-pointers to break the Lady Royals' all-time record for threes.
• One of those most talented weapons in junior guard Makenzie Mason, who was named Second Team All-Region by d3hoops.com and was a First Team All-Landmark Conference honoree after a breakout sophomore season.  Mason averaged 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while contributing 95 assists, 32 blocks, and 24 steals to rank second on the team in all five categories.
• Scranton's two other returning starters are junior guard Emily Sheehan and junior forward Sofia Recupero.  Sheehan started all 30 games last season and averaged 7.1 points per game while collecting a team-leading 27 steals.  Recupero, who is expected to miss the first few games of the fall semester as she recovers from an injury, averaged 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 28 starts as a sophomore.
• Also returning this season for the Lady Royals are junior guard Lily Warhaftig, sophomore guards Ava Gammo and Taylor Rodriguez, and sophomore forward Chloe Burns.
• Warhaftig played in all 30 games last season and averaged 13.3 minutes per contest. Gammo averaged 12.2 minutes in 20 appearances, Rodriguez played in 17 games and averaged 11.2 minutes, and Burns averaged 7.6 minutes in 13 games.

A Look At The Pacers (0-1):

• Marywood University was predicted to finish fifth in the inaugural Atlantic East Conference women's basketball preseason poll. The Pacers finished with 14 points, as voted upon by the league's seven coaches.
• The Pacers will be led by first year coach Gabby Holko. Natasha Hessling returns to the Pacers' lineup. She averaged 8.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season, in addition to surpassing the 500 points mark for her career.
• Marywood started their season with a tough three-point loss to Franklin & Marshall University, as sophomore Emily Theobald led the way for the Pacers with 12 points and eight rebounds.
• Theobald, a transfer from Alvernia University, averaged 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds last season for the Golden Wolves.
• Hessling posted a team-high 13 rebounds against Hessling, while also posting seven points, and Aryah Aungst chalked up 11 points and four assists.
• The Pacers went 15-13 last season, posting a 12-4 record within the conference while making an appearance in the ECAC Championships.
• Marywood is under the direction of first-year head coach Gabby Holko, who was the assistant women's basketball coach at Lackawanna College before joining the Marywood staff.

Against Scranton & Marywood: Dating back to the 2008-09 season, King's is 3-3 against Marywood University while holding a 1-7 mark against Scranton over that same timeline. 

Up Next: King's will head up the road to Keystone College in La Plume, PA, battling the Giants Tuesday November 20 at 6 p.m. in non-conference play from Ace Spalding Arena.