FEBRUARY 21, 2018

SLOW START DOOMS KING'S WOMEN IN MAC FREEDOM TOURNAMENT LOSS AT DESALES

CENTER VALLEY -- The host DeSales University women's basketball team started the game with a 16-1 run and never looked back as the Bulldogs posted a 64-44 victory over King's College in a MAC Freedom matchup Wednesday night in Center Valley.

With the win, DeSales improved to 16-10 while King's ends its season at 15-11, a vast improvement over last season's 5-19 mark. 

DeSales, meanwhile, advances to the conference championship game on Saturday where the Bulldogs will face five-time defending champion and top-seeded FDU-Florham. The Devils defeated fourth-seeded Misericordia 79-62 in the other semi-final.

Things started badly for King's, which had two misses and a turnover on its first three possession. But DeSales was just the opposite, racing out to an 11-0 lead after 3:57 of play thanks to a trio of three-pointers.

King's finally scored when Alexis Steeber made one-of-two free throws with 5:42 left in the quarter. But another Bulldog three-pointer by Leandra Sterner, her third of the opening period, and an inside bucket by Molly Jansco, gave DeSales a 16-1 lead with 4:57 to play in the opening frame.

Steeber added a free throw and Olivia Hpffam hit a three-pointer for King's to cut the score to 16-5. But DeSales outscored the Laday Monarchs 6-2 the rest of the way to take a 22-7 lead into the second quarter.

King's began to make headway with an 8-4 surge, closing to 26-15 thanks to four points from Steeber and a basket each by Rebecca Prociak and Mackenzie Yori. After three straight DeSales points pushed the score to 29-15, King's responded with a 6-0 run to cut the score to 29-21 after a Hoffman basket with 1:38 to play in the half.

But DeSales scored the last four points, including an uncontested lay-up at the buzzer by Bridget Walsh following a Lauren Christ airball to give DeSales a 32-21 lead at the break. King's shot just 29.6 (8-27) from the field in the opening stanza.

The Bulldogs, however, would put the game away with a decisive third quarter. After Hoffman scored to cut the lead to 32-29, DeSales used runs of 7-2 and another at 14-0 to build a 55-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs outscored King's 23-9 in the period.

King's would outscore DeSales 14-9 in the fourth quarter but it was too-little-too-late.

Hoffman led King's with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in her final career game. Steeber followed with 14 points and three boards while Prociak had seven points and seven rebounds. No other King's player scored over two points. King's finished the game making just 24.6 (14-57) percent of its shots, its lowest shooting percentage in any game this season.

Sterner led DeSales with 17 points while Birmelin added 16. The Bulldogs also owned a 56-43 rebounding advantage, including 18 on the offensive glass.