WILKES-BARRE
– King’s College used a big second half effort to post a 71-43 win
over visiting Wilkes University in the Freedom Conference opener for
both sides on Tuesday night at the Scandlon Gymnasium. The Lady
Monarchs improved to 7-7 overall, while the Lady Colonels slipped to
1-10 overall.
It also marked King's 21st straight win over Wilkes dating back to
the 1997 season.
Neither team was able to get on track offensively in the first
half. King’s shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the opening
stanza after converting only 10-of-35 shots. Wilkes was successful
on a mere 6-of-26 shots from the field for 23.1 percent.
King’s scored the first four points of the game on a free throw by
Jenna Palumbo and a three-pointer by Kaitlyn Fiorino. After Ashley
Makarczyk scored on a runner in the lane for Wilkes to make it 4-2,
Kaitlyn Malshefski, Andrea Hochstuhl and Palumbo all converted field
goals to put the Lady Monarchs on top 10-2 with 14:39 left in the
half.
Lacey Andresen would pull the Lady Colonels within 10-4 with a
lay-up at the 11:37 mark. However, King’s rattled off six
consecutive points once again, including four by Sarah O’Doherty, to
assume a 16-4 edge with 5:41 left in the stanza.
A jumper by Makarczyk and a steal and basket by Sam Lynam closed the
gap to 16-8 with 4:46 showing on the clock. Once again King’s
responded with a 7-0 spurt, including five points by Jessica
Paettie, to take their biggest lead of the stanza, 23-8, with 1:35
left. The Lady Monarchs would eventually settle for a 28-15 lead at
the break.
King’s would open the second half with eight straight tallies to
push the lead to 36-15. Jenna Palumbo opened the streak with a pair
of free throws and a three-pointer, before Lauren Kendra scored on a
drive and hit one-of-two from the charity stripe to give the Lady
Monarchs a 21-point advantage.
Trailing 42-20, Wilkes rattled off five straight points on a
three-pointer by Lynam and a basket inside by Mackensey O’Hara with
12:44 to go.
But, King’s would then put the game away with a 14-2 run. Krystina
Durako converted a traditional three-point play and Paettie scored
inside to make it 47-25. A basket by the Lady Colonels Brittany Ely
cut the advantage to 47-27. Andrea Carroll and Malshefski both
cashed in field goals for King’s to extend the lead to 51-27. A
Palumbo three-pointer and a lay-up by Carroll would end the streak
and give the Lady Monarchs a 56-27 edge.
Both team’s were more efficient from the field in the final 20
minutes. King’s converted 44.1 percent of their attempts after
going 15-for-34, while Wilkes canned 32.3 percent of their tries
after hitting on 10-of-31.
Palumbo had 15 points and three assists for King’s. Paettie and
Kristen Baumes contributed 10 points each, while Lauren Kendra had
10 assists and 13 rebounds to go along with her five tallies.
Makarczyk and Ely finished with nine counters apiece to lead Wilkes
offensively. Khadija Bates was the top rebounder for the Lady
Colonels with eight.