CENTER VALLEY, PA (February 29, 2020) -- The King's College women's basketball team trailed by just just 13, 59-46, heading into the final quarter of the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) championship game, but the host DeSales University Bulldogs pulled away in the fourth, out-scoring the Monarchs, 19-7, to defeat King's, 78-53, on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.

The Monarchs struggled offensively in the early minutes of this championship contest as they did not make a field goal until senior Mackenzie Yori hit a three with 4:15 left in the quarter with the Monarchs trailing, 10-5. King's pulled within three, 16-13, off a three by freshman Emily Morano, but DeSales closed the quarter on a 5-2 run as King's trailed, 21-15, after one quarter of action. In the second quarter, a five straight points for the Monarchs came on three and a jump shot in the paint by sophomore Samantha Rajza closed the deficit to just one, 23-22, with 7:05 left in the half. The Bulldogs used another big run, 11-6, to end the half with King's behind, 34-28.

DeSales built a 13 point lead to start the third as the Monarchs saw themselves down, 46-33. King's fought their way back within single digits as they trailed by just eight, 48-40, off a Morano layup, with 4:37 left in the quarter, but the Bulldogs were able to recover and maintain a double-digit lead as they led by 13 again, 59-46, with one quarter left to play. The fourth quarter was all DeSales as they out-scored the Monarchs, 19-7, as they handed King's the season-ending loss, 78-53.

Yori led the Monarchs in her final game with 13 points, and Morano continued her strong ending to her rookie season with 12 points and two steals. Senior Rebecca Prociak capped off her career with her thirteenth double-double of the year adding 11 points and 10 boards with four assists and two blocks. In addition, the sophomore duo of Emily Kriston and Rajza rounded out the offense as Kriston totaled nine points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Rajza recorded eight points and six boards.

DeSales (23-4, 13-1 MAC Freedom) was led by Samantha Shinkus with a double-double of 22 points and 10 assists with seven steals and four rebounds as she was named the MAC Freedom Most Valuable Player. Rylie Rittenhouse totaled 18 points and eight boards, Molly Jansco added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Maria Newsome recorded 14 points.

King's (16-11, 9-5 MAC Freedom) shot 29.6 percent (16-54) from the floor and 23.8 percent (5-21) from three for the game compared to the Bulldogs' 46.9 percent (30-64) from the field. The Monarchs also forced 13 turnovers and totaled 33 team rebounds.