WILKES-BARRE, PA (December 27, 2018) – The King's College Monarch women's basketball team travels to the West Coast this weekend, taking on a pair of strong opponents out West in the Purple & Gold Poet Classic, hosted by Whittier College. King's will be taking on No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan University and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The Monarchs haven't played since December 8, falling on the road to DeSales University in a MAC Freedom contest.

Event Details
Opponent: vs. No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan University (9-2, 4-0 CCIW)
Date: Friday, December 28, 2018
Time: 6:00 PM EST/3:00 PST
Location: Whittier, CA -  Dave Jacobs Court (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video)

Opponent: vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (7-2, 1-1 SCIAC)
Date: Sunday, December 30, 2018
Time: 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PST
Location: Claremont, CA -  Roberts Pavilion (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: The host Bulldogs of DeSales University, receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, put four scorers in double figures to earn a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) victory with a score of 84-43 over the King's College December 8.

The Monarchs saw their five-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Bulldogs (7-2, 2-0 MAC Freedom), who won their 10th straight contest in Billera Hall. King's struggled out of the gate, making just 3-of-19 in the opening stanza as DSU opened a 20-7 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Senior Alexis Steeber led King's with 15 points, going 6-of-15 from the floor while grabbing three rebounds. Junior Mackenzie Yori posted six points and six rebounds, while Rebecca Prociak chalked up six points as well. Junior Sara Wolbert came off the bench to score seven points in 18 minutes of action.

King's shot a season-low 23.0 percent from the floor (14-61), while connecting on just three of its 19 shots from downtown. The 21 turnovers were also a season-high for the Monarchs.

A Look At The Monarchs (6-3, 1-1 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs have done a good job of taking care of the ball this season, leading the MAC Freedom in turnovers committed with only 125 on the season. Their 13.9 turnovers per game is 23^rd in Division III.
• King's is second in the MAC Freedom and 48^th nationally in scoring offense with 73.6 points per contest.
• The Monarchs have shot it well from the free throw line, ranking second in the MAC Freedom and 57^th in the country with a 72.5 percent clip. Junior Rebecca Prociak is 20^th in the country in free throws attempts and 19^th in free throw makes. In fact, Prociak is 37^th in Division III with career free throw makes with 266.
• Junior Mackenzie Yori is second in the conference in points per game with 17.4, while Prociak is right behind her with 17.0 points a night.
• Prociak ranks 39^th in the nation with five double-doubles this season, ranking third in the MAC Freedom.
• Senior Alexis Steeber is pouring in 14.2 points per game as part of the highest scoring trio in the MAC Freedom, also grabbing 4.6 rebounds per night. She is also tied for seventh in blocks per game with 0.8.
• This season, when the Monarchs shoot 32 percent or higher, they have posted a record of 6-0.
• Freshman Emily Kriston ranks eighth in the MAC Freedom for assists per game with 2.9 a game.
• The Monarchs have forced more turnovers than they've committed in all but one game this season, with the DeSales game being the outlier.
• This season, King's has taken more free throws than its opponents in eight of the nine contests, with the lone exception coming in a 16-point win over Keystone.

A Look At The Titans (9-2, 4-0 CCIW):

• Illinois Wesleyan comes into Friday's contest ranked No. 14 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, while ranking No. 17 in the WBCA Top 25 poll.
• The Titans have one of the best offenses in the country, ranking 20^th in Division III with 77.8 points per game. Much of that comes from sharing the ball, as they are fifth nationally with 202 helpers, while their 18.4 assists per game is best in the CCIW and 11^th in D-III.
• Illinois Wesleyan shoots a high percentage from the floor, ranking 12^th in the country and first in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, making 46.4 percent from the floor.
• IWU is coming off an 86-77 win over Carroll University back on Saturday, December 15, and have won seven straight after a loss to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
• During that seven-game run, IWU has knocked off No. 9 DePauw University and perennial power Washington University in St. Louis.
• Maddie Merritt is posting a team-best 17.1 points per game, shooting 58.0 percent from the floor while grabbing 6.2 rebounds a contest. Merritt is 23^rd in the country in field goal percentage, and 22^nd nationally in free throw percentage.
• Sydney Shanks is posting 13.1 points per game, dishing out a team-high 3.7 assists per game, while Kendall Sosa is adding 11 points a night in just 18.1 minutes per contest.
• Raven Hughes is posting 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds as well for the Titans.
• IWU was 25-4 in 2017-18, losing in the NCAA Tournament Second Round to Trine University 79-70.

A Look At The Athenas (7-2, 1-1 SCIAC)

• The Athenas come into the weekend receiving votes in the latest WBCA Top 25 Poll, having rattled off three straight wins including an 85-48 win over La Sierra back on December 15.
• CMS finished 23-4 last season, going 15-1 in the SCIAC but did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament as it lost to Chapman in double-overtime of the SCIAC Tournament Final.
• Claremont-Mudd-Scripps has had some success against East Coast teams this year, defeating The College of New Jersey 87-52 back on November 24.
• True to name, the Athenas are very big all around, leading the SCIAC in rebound margin at 10.9 while ranking 22^nd in the country in that category. In fact, CMS grabs on average 17 offensive boards a game.
• CMS forces 22 turnovers per game, first in its conference, while the 4.11 turnover margin is second in the SCIAC behind just Chapman.
• The Athenas are ranked first in the SCIAC in steals per game with 12.3, which puts them 34^th in the country.
• CMS has a very balanced scoring attack, as the Athenas tops scorer in senior Corinne Bogle is chalking up just 11.3 points per game. Junior Maya Love adds 11.1 points per game, while fellow junior Lindsey Cleary is chalking up 8.0 points per game.
• Love leads the team in rebounding with 8.8 per game for the Athenas, who play almost 12 players per game while no one player averages more than 22.9 minutes per game.

Against CMS and IWU: King's is 0-1 against Illinois Wesleyan all-time, falling to IWU back in 2011-12 in this same tournament. King's has not taken on CMS before.

Up Next: The Monarchs will return home to take on Susquehanna University in the first contest after the new year, traveling to Selinsgrove, PA January 3 at 7 p.m. in non-conference action.