CENTER VALLEY, PA (February 21, 2019) – The King's College women's basketball team led as late as 54-53 with 4:23 left to go in regulation but top-seed and No. 12-ranked DeSales University used a 18-2 run over the final four minutes to pull away in earning a 71-56 victory in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) Tournament semifinals from Billera Hall Gymnasium.

The loss ends the season for the Monarchs (12-14) and extended the winning streak for the Bulldogs (24-2) to 19 games, but no conference team has tested the Bulldogs like the Monarchs did Thursday evening.

DeSales charged out of the gate fast, scoring the game's first 12 points capped by a layup by Samantha Shinkus with 4:51 to go in the first quarter. The Monarchs fought back with 10 of the next 12 points to make it a 14-10 game, as senior Lindsey Dippre nailed a pair of three-pointers during the stretch. The Bulldogs pushed their lead back out to double figures, and would lead by nine at the first intermission after a layup by Bridget Walsh at the buzzer.

The second quarter saw King's mount an early charge, scoring the first seven points to pull to within one at 22-21 following a triple from Kayla Dillinger 2:06 into the second stanza. King's kept things close and tailed by just six heading into the halftime break following a jumper from Emily Kriston with four seconds left in the half.

King's defense was the story in the first half, keeping DeSales out of transition for the most part while having the Bulldogs shoot just 28.6 percent in the second quarter, while outscoring their hosts 17-14 in the period.

After the break, King's once again started the period fast thanks to back-to-back triples from Mackenzie Yori and Alexis Steeber to tie the game at 36. The three-point shot for Steeber gave her five points on the night, and along with that helped her eclipse the 1,000^th-point plateau, the 25^th player in program history earn that mark.

The Bulldogs regained the lead and would hold it until 5:10 of the third quarter, as Steeber connected on another three-pointer to deadlock the game at 44. With the score 47-46 DSU following a Rebecca Prociak layup, King's forced a miss and Yori put back an offensive rebound to give King's its first lead of the game at 48-47.

Back-to-back buckets by Isabel Caruso put the Bulldogs back up by three at 51-48 going to the fourth. In the deciding period, neither team could get much going offensively, but King's regained its lead at 52-51 after two freebies from Steeber. King's largest lead came with 4:39 remaining, as Prociak scored a layup with the foul to make it a 54-52 Monarchs.

That was the last field goal that the Monarchs would hit though, as the Bulldogs tallied 18 of the final 20 points to pull away for the win. With the victory, DSU will take on second-seed Misericordia University Saturday for the MAC Freedom championship.

Dippre finished with a season and career-high in her final collegiate game, as she finished 5-of-11 and 4-of-8 from deep for 16 points. Yori played 38 minutes and tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, and Prociak chalked up eight points and a team-leading 10 rebounds along with four assists. Steeber just missed a double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds to finish her career at King's. The Monarchs shot 26.7 percent (20-75) from the field on the night, and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 47-45.

MAC Freedom Player of the Year Morgan Birmelin finished with a game-high 19 points, while Caruso and Walsh each tallied 14 points apiece. Averi Jordan also registered 11 points and 8 rebounds for DeSales.