WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 5, 2020) -- Despite holding a two-point lead heading into the final quarter of play, the King's College women's basketball team fell to the University of Mary Washington in a heartbreaking loss, 63-56, in the Monarchs final game in the Jamie Lynn Roberts tournament hosted by Catholic University.

Both teams could not seem to find their offensive rhythm early on before an Eagles basket broke the two-minute scoring drought to start the game. Senior Rebecca Prociak was able to get the Monarchs offense started with a layup with 5:47 to go in the opening quarter to tie the game before each team traded baskets before a 9-2 run by Mary Washington closed out the half with King's trailing, 16-10.

Then, a 5-0 run by the Monarchs over the first minute to start the second pulled King's within one, 16-15, but the Eagles responded with five unanswered points to rebuild their lead, 21-15. The remainder of the quarter was a back-and-forth as both teams traded baskets and Mary Washington never led by more than five points before senior Mackenzie Yori hit two free throws to end the half and cut the Monarchs deficit to two, 25-23, into the locker room.

Out of the break, sophomore Emily Kriston connected on a three just 17 seconds into the second half to give King's their first lead of the contest, and Yori hit another from deep just two Monarch possessions later to build their lead, 29-27, with 7:59 left in the third. The contest turned into a game of runs, with the Eagles responding to tie the game each time King's built a three-point lead before a layup by freshman Emily Morano saw the Monarchs leading, 41-39, with one quarter left in regulation.

Mary Washington opened the final quarter on a 13-4 lead saw the Eagles leading by as much as seven with 4:54 to play before the Monarchs answered with a 7-0 run behind a three by Yori, a steal by sophomore Samantha Rajza that led to a Yori transition bucket, and a Prociak layup to tie the contest at 52 with 3:53 remaining. Five straight Eagles points led to four straight Prociak points to bring the Monarchs back within one, 57-56, as the game clock read 1:38, and after a Mary Washington layup, King's was forced to foul and could not deliver on the offensive end of the court to post the final, 63-56.

In a game where both teams struggled offensively through the first three quarters, Yori was able to lead the Monarchs offense with a game-high 21 points on 7-16 shooting, earning her a spot on the Jamie Lynn Roberts All-Tournament team. Fellow-senior Prociak was the other lone Monarch in double figures, totaling 15 points while adding four rebounds and three assists. Coming off the bench with another good performance was Morano who added eight points and three rebounds, and Rajza filled the stat sheet with a team-high seven boards, five points, a team-high four assists, and a team-high three steals.

Mary Washington was led by Maddie Shifflet, who recorded a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Bri Harper who totaled 18 points on 7-11 shooting.

As a team, the Monarchs shot 38.5 percent (20-52) for the game, including 52.7 percent (19-36) in the  second half. They totaled 25 team rebounds, 13 assists on their 20 field goals, and 11 steals off of 17 Eagles turnovers. King's also held the advantage in points off turnovers (13-7), points in the paint (26-24), and fast break points (6-2).

The trip to Catholic concludes the Monarchs non-conference schedule. King's is set to begin Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play on Wednesday as they travel to Eastern University for the second game of the doubleheader with the Monarch men, with tip-off  set for 8:00 p.m.