WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 12, 2022) -- After trialing 31-30 at the halftime break, the King's College women's basketball team dominated the second half, outscoring the visiting FDU-Florham Devils, 43-26, in the second half to earn a solid 73-57 win in MAC Freedom play on senior day Saturday.

Neither team hit their stride early before FDU-Florham (2-17, 1-13 MAC Freedom) built a 14-7 lead with 4:03 to go in the first. King's (14-8, 9-5 MAC Freedom) closed the deficit to just 19-14 a the end of the first and carried the momentum into the second as they opened with a 6-2 run to trail, 21-20, with 7:29 remaining in the half. It was a back-and-forth effort down the stretch to the halftime break with the Monarchs trailing, 31-30.

With the score tied at 38 wiht 6:20 to play in the third, the King's offense exploded for 12 unanswered points behind six from sophomore Kiersten Krouse to build a double-digit lead, 50-39, with two minutes left in the third. The Devils chipped away at the lead to close out the quarter with the Monarchs ahead, 52-44. A strong start for the final quarter from the hosts saw their lead swell to 16, 60-44, off a layup from junior Sarah Heiskell-Mann with 4:56 left, and FDU-Florham could not recover down the stretch as the Monarchs got back in the win column with the 73-57 victory in MAC Freedom play.

Senior Samantha Rajza led all scorers on her senior day with 26 points, connecting for four threes, with a team-high nine rebounds and three assists. Junior Cailin Wilson put together a career-best 14 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor, with four boards, while Krouse connected for 11 points, hitting three threes, with five caroms, five dimes, and a steal. Senior Emily Kriston had another stat-filled afternoon with five points, six rebounds, a team-best seven assists, and a team-high three steals.

The Devils were led by Brielle Fedo, leading three in double figures, with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Tamyah Jones matched her team-high eight boards with 12 points, while Angela Downey handed out five helpers.

King's shot 40.9 percent (27-66) from the floor, hitting 11 threes, and shared the ball extremely well, totaling assists on 26 of their 27 baskets. The Monarchs also took care of the ball, committing just eight turnovers, while the defense collected eight steals off 19 Devils turnovers.

Inside the stat sheet, King's held the advantage in points off turnovers (26-7), second chance points (10-9), bench points (31-5), and fast break points (15-4).

King's makes the short trip across town on Tuesday evening as they take on the Wilkes University Colonels in MAC Freedom play at 6:00 p.m.