FEBRUARY 21, 2007
KING'S WOMEN ADVANCE TO FREEDOM FINAL WITH 83-78
WIN OVER DESALES
WILKES-BARRE -- Andrea Hochstuhl
scored 18 of her career-high 27 points in the second half and hauled
down 17 rebounds to power the King's College to a back-and-forth 83-78
victory over DeSales University in the semi-final round of the Freedom
Conference Tournament Wednesday in Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the win, King's improved to 19-7 on the year and advances to the
Freedom Conference title game where it will play top-seeded Scranton, an
83-67 victor over fourth-seeded Drew University. DeSales, the
third-seed fell to 16-10.
DeSales would take a 33-29 lead into the break thanks to Kirby Lutz who
tallied 14 of her team-high 27 points in the opening stanza.
In the second half DeSales would extend its lead to 42-34 on a
three-point play by LeighAnn Burke with 17:50 remaining. King's
would go on a 15-2 run to take a 49-44 advantage with 13:58 left as
Hochstuhl netted seven points and Andrea Carroll hit a critical
three-pointer.
DeSales would battle back to take a 59-58 lead on a bucket by Lutz, but
Hochstuhl answer right back with a basket for King's as the Lady
Monarchs clung to a 60-59 lead with 7:47 remaining.
The Bulldogs would not go away and tied the score at 62-62 on another
three-point play by Lutz with 6:15 on the clock, but Hochstuhl would
answer with back-to-back baskets to give the Lady Monarchs a 66-62 lead
with 4:57 on the clock.
After DeSales came to within 68-66 on a basket by Burke, Hochstuhl would
score again and Jenna Palumbo canned a big three-pointer with 2:17 left
to give King's a 73-66 lead. The teams would trade scores and DeSales
eventually came to within 74-72 on a Kim Rarick basket with 1:01 on the
clock.
But Hochstuhl kick started a 5-0 surge with a
basket, Carroll netted a pair of foul shots, and Casey Heitman made
one-of-two charity tosses to give King's a 79-72 lead with 0:27 on the
clock. After Burke hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 79-74,
Palumbo would make four straight foul shots to seal the victory.
Hochstuhl was outstanding for King's, making 12-of-15 shots, including
an 8-for-8 showing in the second half. Palumbo finished with 15
points and was 3-of-6 from three-point range, upping her single-season
school record to 93 treys. Kaitlyn Fiorino netted 13 points while
Lauren Kendra added nine points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. Carroll
also made a hearty contribution with nine points off the bench.
Lutz was solid for DeSales, making 8-of-15 from the field and 11-of-16
from the foul line. Burke followed with 17 points while Rarick and Laila
Wiand added 16 and 12 respectively.
King's is expected to play at Scranton Saturday at
7:00 p.m.
