WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 18, 2020) -- Freshman Emily Morano recorded a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting to lead the King's College women's basketball team to a big Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) win, 74-68, over the Misericordia University Cougars on Wednesday night in McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs secured a spot in the MAC Freedom playoffs for the third consecutive season, and they await their seeding after the results from Saturday's contests.

Senior Mackenzie Yori scored just 13 seconds into the contest to set the tone for the Monarchs in their final regular season home contest. The Cougars answered, trading baskets with the Monarchs as neither team led by more than three points before a pair of Misericordia free throws saw King's trialing by five, 18-13, with 3:28 left in the opening quarter. Each team scored on their following possessions with the Cougars leading, 24-18, after one quarter of action.

King's scored the first seven points of the second quarter to regain the lead, 25-24, but Misericordia responded with a 15-6 run to lead, 39-31, with three minutes left in the half. A 9-4 Monarchs run to end the half cut the deficit to just two points as King's trailed, 42-40, at the break.

The Monarchs took the lead early in the half, leading by one off a jumper by Yori with 7:53 to play in the quarter, but the Cougars recorded the next six points to take the lead, 50-45. King's continued to trail by five with 4:06 to go in the third before recording back-to-back threes from sophomore Samantha Rajza and Morano to take back the lead as the two teams traded baskets over the final stretch of the quarter to sit tied at 59 with one quarter left in regulation.

Senior Rebecca Prociak scored the first basket of the final quarter after a sloppy start with 8:42 left, and after both teams scored on their next possessions, another Prociak layup saw the Monarchs leading by four, 65-61, with 7:16 left in the game. Each time the Cougars responded, King's was sent to the free throw line to maintain their four-point advantage, but a Cougar layup with 2:01 to play cut the lead to just one point. Sophomore Emily Kriston responded with a bucket on the next possession, and two big defensive stops that resulted in steals by Morano and Rajza forced Misericordia to foul. Yori connected on a pair of free throws and Rajza added one from the charity stripe over the final stretch to secure the win, 74-68, as each Cougar attempt to tie the game came up short.

Morano led five in double figures in the win. Yori put in another great offensive effort, totaling 18 points with a team-high five assists and three steals. Rajza put in an all-around effort as she recorded 15 points, five boards, and three steals. In addition, Prociak added 14 points, including the 1,500th of her career to become just the fourth player in program history to reach the milestone, with eight rebounds. Kriston also put in a great effort with six points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Misericordia (20-4, 10-3 MAC Freedom) was led by Tessa Zamolyi with a double double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. Jordan Barth and Alyssa Bondi totaled 13 points, and Melina Santacroce added 10 points off the bench. Morgan Haefele led with five assists, and Zamolyi and Erica Haefele added two steals each.

King's (15-9, 9-4 MAC Freedom) shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the floor in the win, including 35.7 percent (5-14) from three. As a team, they totaled 24 rebounds and dished out 14 assists on 27 field goals. Their defensive pressure forced 18 Cougars turnovers, committing 10 steals. Inside the box score, the Monarchs held the advantage in points from turnovers (18-11), fast break points (11-5), and bench points (21-14).

The Monarchs are back in action for their final regular season MAC Freedom contest as they travel to face the Stevens Ducks in Hoboken, NJ with game time set for 3:00 p.m.