JANUARY 20, 2016
LADY MONARCHS FALL TO MISERICORDIA 62-61 ON BUCKET WITH 2.3 SECONDS LEFT
WILKES-BARRE, PA --- The King's College women's basketball team fell to visiting Misericordia University 62-61 on a basket by Justine Seely with 2.3 seconds left on Wednesday night at Scandlon Gymnasium in Wilkes-Barre.
The Lady Monarchs fall to 10-6 overall and 3-2 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom play while Misericordia improves to 6-10 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
King's opened the game strong with back-to-back buckets in the paint by Olivia Hoffman and a layup by Alexis Steeber to take an early 6-0 lead. After a Cougar bucket the Lady Monarchs extended the lead up to 12-2 on a layup by Kayla Feairheller, two free throws from Jennifer Fabian, and a jumper from Sara Krupinski. The Cougars were able to get the lead down to eight points but Cayle Spencer hit back-to-back three-pointers to give King's a 24-13 lead after one quarter of play.
The second quarter was back and forth. The Monarchs began the quarter by extending their lead up to 14 points at 30-16 with 7:37 left after a layup by Steeber. The Cougars responded with a 6-0 run to bring the deficit down to eight points. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half as the Lady Monarchs took a 34-27 lead into the locker room.
The teams traded baskets the first four minutes of the quarter as the Monarchs held a 40-31 lead with 6:02 left. Misericordia then went on a 12-5 run to get the lead down to two with 2:30 left in the quarter. Fabian knocked down a three as the clock expired in the quarter to give King's a 50-45 lead heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was closely contested with neither team able to go on a run. A Shannon Croasdale layup with 1:31 left cut the King's lead to one point at 61-60. Neither team was able to score on the ensuring possessions. The Lady Monarchs had a few quality chances to score but Fabian could not convert a layup after a Cougar turnover and Olivia Hoffman missed two free throw attempts after blocking a Seely jumper and being fouled on the rebound with 24 seconds left.
Rachel Carmody missed a jumper with 14 seconds left for the Cougars and it looked like King's was going to grab the rebound but Croasdale snuck in and grabbed the offensive board to keep possession with the Cougars. After a timeout Seely was passed the ball in the paint and she was able to shoot over the King's defense to give Misericordia its first lead of the game with 2.3 seconds left. After a King's timeout the Lady Monarchs were able to get to the free throw line with 1.4 seconds left as Hoffman was fouled shooting a jumper. However she was unable to hit either free throw to give Misericordia the victory.
King's had four players in double figures led by Kayla Feairheller with 12 points. Cayle Spencer had 11 points while Jennifer Fabian nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. Olivia Hoffman finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks. Sara Krupinski had six points, four rebounds, and three assists.
King's shot 35.6 (26-73) percent from the field and forced Misericordia to commit 20 turnovers but were outrebounded 57-37.
The Cougars were led by Liz Waleski with 18 points on six three-pointers. Rachel Carmody had 14 points and Justine Seely had 13 points.
King's will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Purchase, N.Y. to face Manhattanville College in an important MAC Freedom game at 1:00 p.m.