WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The University of Scranton women's basketball team fell in a 10-point hole less than three minutes into the game and the battle back was too much on the Lady Royals as they eventually fell to King's College, 65-60, at Scandlon Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

Sophomore guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./Saint Rose) led Scranton (1-3) with 18 points, 16 coming in the second half. Junior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and senior forward Sarah Gage (Ledgewood, N.J./Roxbury) added 12 points and eight rebounds.

King's (3-1) raced out to a 10-0 lead at the 17:06 mark of the first half behind five points from senior guard Samantha Simcox (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson). The Lady Royals cut the lead to one midway through the half, but the Lady Monarchs pulled out to a 34-23 lead at the half.

King's maintained its double digit lead through the first eight minutes of the second half, but Sweeney caught the hot hand, tossing in three 3-pointers in a five-minute span to help the Lady Royals rally to a 51-50 lead with less than six minutes to play.

But senior guard Brittany Muscatell (Lambertville, N.J./Immaculata) scored five straight points for the Lady Monarchs and Scranton never pulled even again. The Lady Royals had one last chance with an inbounds play in the backcourt with 4.1 seconds remaining and trailing by three, but Simcox stole the inbounds pass and turned it into a layup for the game's final points.

Junior guard Katlin Michaels (Berwick, Pa./Berwick), who had five steals, and freshman forward Marissa Manning (Newton Square, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) led King's with 12 points each. Simcox, who had four steals, and senior forward Paige Carlin (Scotrun, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) added 11 apiece.

The Lady Royals turned the ball over in the contest to just 11 for King's. Both teams shot an identical 21-for-59 (35.6 percent) from the floor, but King's connected on seven of 23 3-pointers, while Scranton hit six of 25 from beyond the arc. The Lady Royals controlled the boards, holding a 48-34 edge in rebounding.

Scranton is 1-3 for just the fourth time in school history and the first time in more than 20 years. They also started 1-3 in the 1977-78, 1981-82 and 1990-91 seasons. With the defeat, head coach Mike Strong remains three victories from eclipsing the NCAA Division III women's all-time record for wins.

The Lady Royals return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 30, when they host Marywood in the Long Center at 7 p.m.

--ROYALS--