WILKES-BARRE, PA (December 31, 2019) -- The King's College women's basketball team out-scored the Keystone College Giants 47-24 over the first half on their way to a 83-54 home victory. The Monarchs improve to 6-3 on the season with just two non-conference games remaining before Middle Atlantic Freedom (MAC Freedom) action begins in the new year.

King's opened the game on an 8-0 run and cruised from there, leading by as much as 12 points in the opening quarter before leading by nine after one, 22-13. The Monarchs continued to build their lead throughout the second quarter, holding a 23-point advantage on several occasions with the last time at the half as they headed into the locker room up 47-24 on the visiting Giants. The offense continued to click on all cylinders as their lead hit 28 off a three by senior Kayla Dillinger with 1:19 left in the quarter. They hit their largest lead of the game off a pair of free throws by senior Mackenzie Yori with 1:00 remaining before running out the clock and post the 29-point final,  83-54.

Sophomore Samantha Rajza led the Monarchs offense with another sharp-shooting game, totaling a career-high tying 31 points on 12-14 shooting, including 6-7 from beyond the arc. Rajza also added a team-high five steals, five rebounds, and two blocks. Senior Rebecca Prociak recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points, 12 boards, and a team-high tying five assists. Off the bench adding another double-digit performance was freshman Emily Morano who totaled 11 points on 3-6 shooting. Sophomore Emily Kriston filled the stat sheet again as she added eight boards, seven points, five assists, and three steals in the win.

As a team, the King's shot 46.8 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from three. They also dished out 23 assists on their 29 made field goals, and they held the advantage on the boards, 49-40, over the Giants. The Monarchs defensive pressure forced 21 turnovers, totaling 11 steals in the contest. Inside the box score, King's held the advantage in points off turnovers (23-14), second chance points (11-5), points in the paint (34-22), and fast break points (12-3).

The Monarchs return to play as they travel to Washington, D.C. this upcoming weekend to face Marymount University and the University of Mary Washington as part of the Jamie Lynn Roberts -Fairfield Inn Holiday Tournament hosted by Catholic University on January 4 and 5, both games at 1:00 p.m.