MARCH 2, 2002
COURTESY: JOHN SEITZINGER
KING'S WOMEN ADVANCE TO SWEET 16 WITH 79-61 WIN
OVER ALVERNIA
WILKES-BARRE -- Host King's College opened up
a double-figure halftime lead and never looked back as they knocked off
Alvernia College, 79-61, in the second round of the NCAA Division III
Women's Basketball Championships in the Scandlon Gymnasium on Saturday
night.
The victory improves the Lady Monarchs to 24-3
overall and moves them into the Sweet 16, where they will play arch-rival
Scranton next Friday at a site and time to be determined. Alvernia, the
Pennsylvania Athletic Conference champion, concludes their season with a
24-6 mark.
King's scored the first 14 points of the contest to
assume control early. The Lady Monarchs got on the board at the 19:05 mark
on a layup by Carissa Ryan. Nikki Kingston hit a pair of free throws to
extend the lead to 4-0. Kingston then hit back-to-back jumpers to push the
lead to 8-0 with 16:26 left in the half.
Both teams then went scoreless for over two minutes
before a Wozniak bucket inside gave King's a 10-0 lead with 14:20 left
before intermission. Wozniak would also cap the run with another field
goal, this time off a Kingston assist, to make it 14-0 with 12:57 left in
the period.
Alvernia would get to within 16-7 on a traditional
three-point play by Trish O'Gurek with 11:26 remaining in the first half.
But King's would answer with five consecutive points to regain a
double-digit lead they would maintain throughout the remainder of the
first half. Jennie Orelli hit two free throws and Kingston connected for a
three-point play during the run. The Lady Monachs would eventually head
into the locker room at halftime with a 42-30 advantage.
The Crusaders would score the first four points of
the second half to cut the lead to single digits, 42-34. Kacie Androsko
scored in the paint and Jen Sawyer got a fast break basket as Alvernia got
as close as they would get during the remainder of the contest.
King's immediately answered with nine straight
tallies to push the lead back to double-figures for good, 51-34, with
14:49 to play. Kingston hit a jumper and Carissa Ryan converted a field
goal to make it 46-34. Tiffini Varrasse then canned a three-point field
goal, and followed with a driving hoop to end the spurt.
The closest Alvernia would come the rest of the way
was 12 points, that coming at the 10:33 mark on a Tanisha Gidden's field
goal that made it 55-43. The Lady Monarchs then rattled off eight
consecutive points to forge in front 63-43, and dash any hopes of a
Crusader comeback. Jen Wozniak scored five points during the spurt, while
Varrasse added another three-pointer for the Lady Monarchs.
King's placed four players in double-figures as 11
players got in on the scoring act. Wozniak had 16 points and seven
rebounds, while Kingston added 16 points as well. Varrasse had 15 tallies
and four assists, and Ryan chipped in with ten points.
Alvernia was led by Giddens, who had 19 points and
12 rebounds. Sawyer was next on the Crusaders scoring list with 13 points.
It marked the second time in the last three years in which King's will
face Scranton in the Sweet 16. The teams met in Rochester, NY in 2000 with
the Lady Royals gaining the victory.
BOX SCORE
