WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 9, 2019) – Wilkes University led from start to finish Saturday afternoon, knocking off the King's College women's basketball team 58-55 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play from the Marts Center. The two teams finished a weekend of joint efforts to raise money for the Kay Yow Breast Cancer Fund, as both teams accepted donations and wore pink for the game.  

The Monarchs (12-11, 6-6 MAC Freedom) started slowly in the opening 10 minutes, as the Colonels took a 10-3 lead after a three-pointer by senior Gab Giordano with 6:28 left in the opening stanza. The WU lead swelled up to 11 points after a lay-up by Ashley Caster before the run was stopped by a three-pointer at the end of the shot clock by Lindsey Dippre.

King's got the Wilkes edge down to five at 19-14 after a corner triple from junior Kayla Dillinger, but back-to-back layups by Gabby Smicherko in the last minute gave the Colonels a 23-14 edge after 10 minutes. Wilkes shot a blistering 61.5 percent in the first quarter, making 8-of-13 from the floor while the Monarchs were just 23.5 percent on field goal attempts.

The Colonels pushed their lead back up to 11 points with 7:03 left in the first on another three-pointer from Giordano, but the Monarchs sliced the hosts lead down to six after a pair of freebies by Dippre with 3:10 to go in the second quarter. Both teams would go cold though for the rest of the frame, as Wilkes took a 32-25 lead into the intermission.

Dippre and fellow senior Alexis Steeber each paced King's with eight points, while junior Sara Wolbert spelled classmate Rebecca Prociak who was in foul trouble by corralling a game-best nine rebounds. The Monarchs shot only 8-of-31 from the field in the opening half, but out-rebounded their hosts 24-17 including a 9-2 edge in offensive caroms. Giordano paced the Colonels with 15 points and five rebounds in the first half.

After the break, King's pulled to within five at 35-30 with 4:25 to go in the period after a Mackenzie Yori three-pointer but the Colonels responded with a three-pointer by Maddie Kelley and a lay-up from Smicherko to push the Wilkes lead back to 10. After WU grew the edge up to 11, King's pulled to within seven going into the fourth after a Steeber bucket just before the buzzer.

In the fourth, Wilkes used a 7-0 run early to take a 50-38 lead with 6:57 to go in the game. After a timeout by the Monarchs, King's came out composed and chalked up a 7-0 run of it's own to make it a 50-45 game with 3:26 to play in regulation thanks to a triple from Yori, a bucket from Steeber and two free throws from Prociak.

Wilkes posted the next four points, all from the free throw line, to make it nine-point game but a four-point play from freshman Samantha Rajza with 1:32 to go made the score 54-49 with 92 seconds to go in the game. The Monarchs forced a shot clock violation on the next possession, and King's got as close as it had been since Wilkes led 3-0 after Rajza grabbed an offensive board and Steeber nailed a three to make it 54-52 with 40 seconds left.

The Colonels called a timeout, followed by a foul which put Kelley at the line, and she made both to push the lead back to four at 56-52. After another timeout, Yori's three-point attempt was just short off the front iron and Giordano grabbed her 12^th rebound of the game. Wilkes's Vanessa Whitecavage made one-of-two to make it a 57-52 lead, and King's posted a lay-up by Wolbert to make it a one-possession game again with just over 20 seconds to go. That's as close as the Monarchs would get though, as Wilkes secured the Senior Day upset at home. The win for Wilkes was their first over the Monarchs since 2014, a span of 10 games.

The Monarchs were paced by the 19 points from Steeber, who finished 8-of-19 from the floor while adding six rebounds as well. Yori led the team with three steals, contributing 10 points, and Dippre finished with 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out. Rajza also chalked up seven points and five points, and junior Sara Wolbert tied her career-high for rebounds with 10.

King's shot better in the fourth, connecting on 46.2 percent from the field, but finished just 19-of-62 from the floor (30.6 percent).

The Colonels got a double-double from Giordano of 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Kelley also chalked up 18 points and seven boards. Wilkes was 44.4 percent from downtown (8-18), which ended up being the difference.

The Monarchs will now look forward to Wednesday's road contest at Misericordia University at 6 p.m. in Dallas, PA. King's has a one-game lead over Eastern University with two games to go in the race for the final spot in the MAC Freedom Tournament.