WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 18, 2019) – The King's College women's basketball team qualified for the fourth and final spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) Tournament Saturday thanks to help from DeSales University and Misericordia University earning wins over Delaware Valley University and Eastern University. With the qualification, King's will travel down to Center Valley, PA for the MAC Freedom Semifinals, taking on No. 12/16 DeSales University with a chance to make it to the MAC Freedom Finals Saturday.

Event Details
MAC Freedom Championships Website
Opponent: at DeSales University (23-2, 14-0 MAC Freedom)
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Center Valley, PA – Billera Hall Gymnasium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
Tickets: Adults $6; Seniors $4; Students & Children $2; Kids 6 and Under Free

Last Time Out: King's dropped a 76-71 decision on Senior Day to Manhattanville Saturday. The Monarchs led by as many as 12 points midway through the second quarter, after a traditional three-point play from junior Rebecca Prociak to make the score 31-19 with 4:17 left in the opening half. Minutes later after a pair of free throws from junior Mackenzie Yori, the Valiants (17-7, 8-6 MAC Freedom) used an 11-2 run over the last three minutes of the half to make it 35-34 King's game heading into the break.

Senior Alexis Steeber, who was celebrating her Senior Day along with teammate Lindsey Dippre, led King's with 12 points through the first half while Prociak also posted nine points for the Monarchs. The game would continue to stay tight throughout, as the lead changed hands 18 times over the course of the game while featuring six ties as well.

With 1:23 go, King's took its first lead since 49-48 as Steeber converted a lay-up while being fouled followed by a free throw to put the Monarchs up two at 69-67. On the next play down the court, Ali Mikaele answered with her own three-point play to give Manhattanville a 70-69 lead with 1:10 to go.

King's would miss its next shot, and following one free throw make by the Valiants, the Monarchs had the ball with 14 seconds down two. The ensuing inbounds pass by King's was a bit strong, sailing out of bounds to give the ball back to Manhattanville. Kayleah McGuire made both shots from the line to make it a four-point game, and King's wouldn't get the game back to a one-score game as the Valiants sealed the contest from the line.

Steeber finished three points shy of her career high on Saturday, chalking up 20 points and six rebounds, making eight of her 17 field goals. The senior from Shickshinny, PA is now just five points shy of 1,000 for her career, and should get to that number Wednesday at DeSales as she is averaging 15.2 points per game this year.

Prociak was 9-of-10 from the line and 4-of-8 from the field on the way to 17 points, chalking up seven rebounds, while freshman Samantha Rajza finished with 15 points, six boards and a team-leading four assists. Dippre came off the bench to total nine points, five rebounds and two helpers, and Yori tallied eight points and three caroms.

King's finished 24-63 (38.1 percent) from the field, and shot it well from the charity stripe as KC was 19-of-24 (79.2 percent) at the line. Rebounding once again was a bugaboo for the Monarchs, as King's was out-boarded 49-40 while surrendering 19 offensive rebounds. Those rebounds for Manhattanville resulted in 20 second-chance points for the visitors.

A Look At The Monarchs (12-13, 6-8 MAC Freedom):

• King's will look to snap a four-game losing skid on Wednesday, having last won on January 30 at FDU-Florham.
• The Monarchs are looking for their third MAC Freedom title in program history, having last won the championship back in 2002-03 with a 66-56 win over DeSales. King's has made the title game four times since that 2003 title.
• Head coach Caitlin Hadzimichalis has led her team to the MAC Freedom playoffs two of her first three seasons as head coach including each of the last two seasons.
• The MAC Freedom Tournament appearance is the 14^th since the 1999-2000 season.
• The Monarchs will look to keep its offensive attack rolling this week, posting the third-best scoring offensive unit in the conference at 70.3 points per game.
• King's is third in the MAC Freedom in made three-pointers with 155 this year, while also ranking third in free throw percentage at 71.9 percent.
• The Monarchs need to improve in their rebounding heading into the Tournament, ranking eighth in defensive rebounding in the MAC Freedom with just 27.1 defensive caroms a game.
• Junior Rebecca Prociak is still one of just two players in the MAC Freedom averaging a double-double, posting 16.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She ranks second in both categories in the MAC Freedom.
• Prociak also leads the conference in made free throws with 144, and is just six shy of breaking the single-season record for made free throws of 150 set by Mary Beth Bowler in 1981-82.
• Senior Alexis Steeber is only five points shy of 1,000 points for her career, and is now second on the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. Steeber would become the 24^th member of the 1,000 point club, while it would mark the first time since 2013 that two players have earned the feat in the same year (Kaitlin Michaels, Celia Rader).
• All four primary ball-handlers for the Monarchs this year (Mackenzie Yori, Lindsey Dippre, Samantha Rajza and Emily Kriston) come into the week with positive assist-to-turnover ratios, led by the 1.60 ratio for Yori.
• Rajza has posted double digits in five of her last six games for the Monarchs, which includes nailing eight three-pointers over that span. She has also averaged four rebounds, three assists and two steals over that span as well.
• Yori ranks fourth in the league in made three-pointers with 48, and her 2.0 made threes a game is tied for second-most in the conference.

A Look At The Bulldogs (23-2, 14-0 MAC Freedom:

• The top-seeded Bulldogs of DSU have won their last 18 games overall and swept through the conference going undefeated this year. They are coming off a Senior Day win over Delaware Valley Saturday.
• DSU is ranked No. 12 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 poll, while holding the No. 16 ranking in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
• DeSales is looking for its seventh overall MAC title this year, while trying to post its fifth MAC Freedom championships. DSU has lost in the finals the past three seasons and four of the last five years.
• The Bulldogs last won the conference in 2010-11, when they defeated Misericordia University 63-59 in the finals to cap a four-year string of success winning the MAC Freedom from 2008 to 2011.
• DeSales ranks first in the conference in both scoring offense and defense, pouring in 80.1 points per game along with allowing only 52.4 points defensively.
• DSU shoots 41.4 percent as a team overall, which tops the conference, while allowing teams to shot 29.8 percent. The defensive field goal percentage against is the lowest in the MAC Freedom.
• The Bulldogs have a very balanced scoring attack, with four players over 12 points per game. Leandra Sterner has returned from injury and is posting 14.1 points per game, while freshman Samantha Shinkus averages 13.8 points a game.
• Morgan Birmelin is third on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game, while leading Division III in assists per game with 7.7 nightly.
• Senior Bridget Walsh posts 8.4 points, 8.7 boards and 2.9 blocks per game, as her 72 blocks are 31 more than the next person in the conference.
• Averi Jordan also tallies 12 points and 5.7 rebounds a game for the Bulldogs, who have had four players (Shinkus, Birmelin, Jordan, Walsh) start all 25 games.

Against DeSales Recently: The Monarchs are 27-41 all-time with the Bulldogs, having dropped the last four games against DeSales including last year's Freedom semifinals down in Center Valley. King's has not won at DeSales since 2013, but that was in the conference semifinals. Wedneday's game is the fifth time these teams have met in the conference tournament, with DeSales holding a 3-1 record.

Up Next: If King's defeats DeSales, it will have to travel on Saturday to the winner of the other semifinal featuring Manhattanville and Misericordia in Dallas, PA.