JANUARY 12, 2016

KING'S BASKETBALL TEAMS TO RESUME FREEDOM CONFERENCE SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY AT DESALES

WILKES-BARRE — With the Holiday season behind them, the King's College women's and men's basketball teams will resume Freedom Conference competition on Wednesday when both teams travel to Center Valley to face DeSales University in a doubleheader scheduled for 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. respectively in Billera Hall.

Both games will be televised live on Service Electric Cable by TV2 in the Lehigh Valley.

Fans can also follow the game online at the following links:

LiveStats (Women):  http://sidearmstats.com/desales/wbball/

LiveStats (Men):  http://sidearmstats.com/desales/mbball/

Live Video (Both Games):  http://athletics.desales.edu/watch/?Live=118

King's women enter the game with an 8-4 record and are 2-0 in Freedom Conference games. The Lady Monarchs, however, have not played since December 30 when the team dropped two games at the Catholic University Holiday Tournament.  DeSales stands at 9-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play after a 83-31 win over Immaculata University on Monday. DeSales won both meetings last season by six points, winning the first meeting 57-51 in Wilkes-Barre before posting a 60-54 triumph in Center Valley.

King's is paced by senior forward Jennifer Fabian (Doylestown/Central Bucks West) who averages 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds with 10 three-pointers. Junior guard Kayla Feairheller (Downingtown/Downingtown West) follows with 11.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and a team-high 24 three-pointers. Junior guard Kasey Seitz (Red Lion/Red Lion) adds 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists with 15 three-pointers.

Senior forward Tara Zdancewicz (Larksville/Wyoming Valley West) contributes 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while 6-foot-2 sophomore center Olivia Hoffman (Plymouth/Wyoming Valley West) tallies 5.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and tops the team with 36 blocked shots.

Freshman guard Cayle Spencer (Sweet Valley/Lake-Lehman) has tallied 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds with 10 three-pointers while freshman forward Alexis Steeber (Shickshinny/Berwick) checks in with 3.3 points and 2.8 boards. Junior guard Shae Grim (Red Lion/Dallastown) posts 3.2 points while senior point-guard Sara Krupinski (Montrose/Montrose)  chips in with 3.1 points and 2.5 assists.

King's averages 60.5 points per-game. The Lady Monarchs ranks 18th nationally with 5.3 blocked shots per-game. The team also ranks 31st with 276 attempted three-point shots, averaging 23.0 three-point attempts per-game. King's has made 276 three-pointers while their opponents have connected on 186, a difference of 90 treys.  

The Lady Monarchs also stand first in the Freedom Conference in three-point field goal attempts. King's shoots 34.8 (256-735) percent from the floor and has held opponents to 32.8 (244-744) percent shooting.  The Lady Monarch have made 69.0 (145-210) percent from the foul line.

DeSales is led by 6-foot-1 junior center Morgan McCollian who tops the team with 17.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per-game. Freshman guard Leandra Sterner follows with 13.3 and 3.3 rebounds with 12 three-pointers. Felow rookie guard Morgan Birmelin adds 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.4 steals each contest.

Sophomore guard Kaitlin Kelly  has contributed 8.3  and 2.3 rebounds with a team-high 25 three-pointers while senior small forward Jen Napolitano has posted 8.1 points and 3.9 rebounds with 18 three-pointers. Freshman guard Katie Miller has tallied 5.9 points with 3.3 rebounds and 10 three-pointers while junior forward Nicole Umbenhauer chips in with 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.

The Bulldogs average 68.3 points while allowing 58.77 each contest. DeSales shoots 37.0 (329-890) percent from the floor and 29.0 (73-252) percent from three-point range. DeSales has also connected on 67.7 (157-232) precent from the foul line.

King's men, meanwhile, enter the game with a 7-6 overall record and are 1-1 in the Freedom Conference. The Monarchs played Saturday for the first time in nearly a month and posted a 87-59 win over Penn State Wilkes-Barre. 

Junior forward Dan Rutecki averages 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds while junior guard John Fazzini follows with 10.6 points and 2.6 rebounds with 14 three-pointers.  Senior center Tom Heston (Feasterville/Holy Ghost Prep) has contributed 9.9 points and 8.8 rebound awhile shooting a team-best 48.2 (41-85) percent from the field and is tied for the team lead with 31 assists. Sophomore forward Chris Fazzini (Drums/Crestwood) who averages 10.4 points and 3.2 assists while junior guard Nate Oliver (Wilkes-Barre/Coughlin) has contributed 9.2 points with a team-high 23 three-pointers.

Freshman guard Jake Barber (Hanover Township/Hanover Area) adds 8.6 points and 2.5 rebounds while senior guard Connor Hughes (Bethlehem/Notre Dame Greenpond) posts 5.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 22 assists. Junior forwards John Dini (New Monmouth, NJ/Middletown North) and Derek Wilkins (Dushore/Sullivan County) chip in with 5.0 and 3.4 points per-game respectively.

The Monarchs are shooting 41.3 (323-782) from the field and 29.5 (72-244) from the three-point line. The Monarchs have also made 73.4 (246-335) percent from the foul line.

DeSales stands at 9-4 and is also 1-1 in league competition after a 79-77 win over Arcadia on Wednesday and have won five of heir last six games.

Junior forward Cody Deal tops the Bulldogs with 14.7 points with 4.4. Rebounds and 35 three-pointers.  Kuity Slanger follows with 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists while Brian Laird adds 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 26 three-pointers.

Aaron Burton contributes 9.7 points with 5.6 rebounds and 12 three-pointers while Ryan Callahan has posted 9.5 points and 3.8 boards.  Brandon Bridy chips in with 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds.

The Bulldogs average 79.7 points per-game while allowing 72.6 each contest. DeSales is shooting a scorching 47.4 (371-782) percent from the floor and 37.1 (86-232) percent from the three-point line. The Bulldogs have made .666 (209-314) percent of their foul shots.

King's returns to the floor Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. home doubleheader against Freedom rival Eastern University.