WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 8, 2022) – The King's College women's basketball team faced some untimely offensive struggles in the second quarter which proved costly in the season-opening loss to the visiting Gwynedd Mercy University, falling 75-50, on Tuesday evening in McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs fall to 0-1 to start the season, while the Griffins pick up the win and move to 1-0.
 
The opening quarter was a closely contested match up, featuring four ties and three lead changes, that saw the visiting Gwynedd Mercy (1-0) on top, 18-13, after the first period. King's (0-1) then ran into their second-quarter drought as they went into the halftime break trailing 41-15.
 
The Monarchs hung tough in the third as they kept the game within reach heading into the final quarter down 58-29. King's outscored the Griffins 21-17 in the final stanza, but their fourth-quarter efforts came up short as they posted the 58-29 loss to Gwynedd Mercy in their season-opener.
 
Junior Toni Amato paced the King's offense with 13 points off the bench, connecting for three threes, while both Kiersten Krouse and Maddy White collected team-highs of four rebounds.
 
Haley Crossley led all scorers with 25 points, posting a double-double with 10 rebounds, and adding a game-high eight steals with three assists and a block. Elise Sylvester also finished in double figures with 11 points and a team-high four assists.
 
As a team, the Monarchs shared the ball well, posting 11 assists on their 16 field goals, while forcing 13 Griffins' turnovers and pulling down 34 rebounds. King's also shot the ball well from beyond the arc, connecting for 40 percent (8-20) of their attempts, while holding Gwynedd Mercy to just 26.7 percent (8-30) from three. Additionally, King's held the advantage in bench points, 31-25.
 
The Monarchs will be back on the hard wood on Thursday evening for their first road contest, traveling to Penn State Schuylkill for a 6:00 p.m. tip off.