WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 10, 2019) – The King's College women's basketball team will return to McGrane Gymnasium Saturday after suffering its second Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) loss of the season at Manhattanville College Wednesday, hosting FDU-Florham Saturday at 1 p.m. in conference play. The Monarchs have dropped back-to-back games but have played well at home this season and are 1-0 in league home games thus far this year.

Event Details
Opponent: vs. FDU-Florham (6-8, 1-2 MAC Freedom)
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – McGrane Gymnasium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: The King's College women's basketball team had four players in double-figures on Wednesday evening, but host Manhattanville College used a late 8-0 run to pull away for a 66-60 win in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play from Kennedy Gym.

The game remained tight from the opening tip-off, and in the second half no team led by more than five points. The contest featured six ties, while the Monarchs took the lead twice during the game, the latest at 2:23 left to go in regulation with a pair of free throws by Mackenzie Yori.

On the next possession, Sarah Coutu posted a pair of free throws to regain the Valiant lead at 56-55. That would start the decisive eight-point run for Manhattanville (12-1, 3-0 MAC Freedom), as Kayleah McGuire finished the spurt with a free throw with 46 seconds to play. King's cut the score down to five twice on jumpers by Alexis Steeber and Kayla Dillinger, but Manhattanville iced the game at the line.

King's (7-7, 1-2 MAC Freedom) scored seven of the game's first nine points of the game to take a 7-2 lead, but the Valiants went on a 9-0 run just before the end of the first quarter to take an 18-16 lead into the quarter intermission. The teams traded the lead at 21-20 as Samantha Rajza connected on a three-pointer as part of a 9-0 King's run that saw the Monarchs take a 26-20 advantage.

The Monarchs continued to lead until a Geena Catalano lay-up at the buzzer tied the game at 29 going into halftime. The third quarter saw the contest stay as a one-possession game for all of 50 seconds of the period. Down two going into the fourth, King's trailed until a 6-0 run spurred by four points by Yori make the score 55-54, setting up the finish.

Junior Rebecca Prociak posted 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting for the Monarchs, adding seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Steeber went 6-of-14 from the floor en route to 15 points Wednesday, as the senior finished with 15 points for her third straight game and the fourth time in the last six. Rajza posted 15 points as well for King's, making 4-of-6 from downtown, adding five caroms as well.

Yori also finished with 13 points for King's, which shot 20-of-55 (36.4 percent) for the contest. King's forced 24 turnovers on the night and posted 21 points off those giveaways.

A Look At The Monarchs (7-7. 1-2 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs will return home for MAC Freedom action after playing six of their eight games on the road. King's will have the benefit of hosting four of the next five in McGrane Gymnasium.
• Junior Rebecca Prociak comes into this weekend leading the team in scoring with 16.1 points per game, which is fourth-best in the MAC Freedom. Her 72 free-throw makes is still tops in the conference.
• Prociak has also been strong on the offensive glass, posting 3.6 offensive rebounds per game, which is second-most in the MAC Freedom. Prociak is also third in the conference in rebounding with 9.1 a game.
• Junior Mackenzie Yori is eighth in the MAC Freedom in shooting percentage this season with a .470 clip. She is also averaging 15.8 points per game, thanks to 25 made three-pointers.
• Senior Alexis Steeber has scored exactly 15 points in each of her last three games, and the senior has also chalked up between 14 and 17 points in each of her last seven contests.
• King's has had four players that started all 14 games this season, with Prociak, Steeber, Yori and junior Kayla Dillinger getting the nod each contest so far.
• So far in conference play, King's is pulling in just 35.7 rebounds per game, which is the fewest per contest of the eight MAC Freedom teams.
• Freshman Samantha Rajza was played well in conference action, as the local Holy Redeemer product has chalked up 13.7 points in the three MAC Freedom games. That ranks her 11^th in the conference.
• In MAC Freedom only play, Rajza has the best 3-point field goal percentage in the conference knocking down 57.1 percent of her attempts from deep. Her 2.7 makes from behind the arc per game also tops the league-only list.
• According to the MAC Freedom website, King's has played in front of the third-most fans of any other team this year.

A Look At The Devils (6-8, 1-2 MAC Freedom):

• The Devils of FDU-Florham are only four seasons removed from winning the NCAA Championship back in 2013-14, when they were undefeated with a 33-0 record. FDU-Florham has won the MAC Freedom the last six seasons, winning at least 21 games each of the last six years.
• Head coach Melissa Brooks is in her first season at FDU-Florham, replacing Marc Mitchell who departed to be the head coach at Division I St. Peter's last year.
• The Devils have won two straight including an 86-77 win Wednesday over Eastern University.
• FDU-Florham has struggled from the outside this season, making only 31 threes in 15 games, a league-low average of 2.1 per game. FDU is defending the three well though, ranking second in the conference as teams are making 21.8 percent from deep.
• Kayla Crosswell is second in the conference in scoring, making a league-high 102 field goals en route to 17.3 points per contest. She also ranks seventh in rebounding with 7.9 per game.
• Cayla Staggers is pouring in 13.6 percent a game, 13^th most in the league, while playing the second-most minutes of any player in the conference (34.7).
• Raven Dowling leads the squad in assists with 62, while her 4.1 assist a game ranks third in the MAC Freedom.
• This season, when the Devils have shot 37.5 percent or better from the floor overall, they have gone 5-2.

Against FDU-Florham All-Time: Dating back to 2008, the series with the Devils has FDU winning 12 of the 23 games in the series. King's knocked off FDU back in 2015, but since then it's been five straight wins for FDU.

Up Next: King's will entertain crosstown rival Wilkes University February 16 in McGrane Gymnasium at 8 p.m. in more conference play.