FEBRUARY 14, 2017

SCHMIDT SCORES 22 AND GRABS NINE REBOUNDS IN 78-61 WIN AT WILKES

WILKES-BARRE, PA --- Erin Schmidt had a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the King's College women's basketball team to a 78-61 victory over host Wilkes University on Tuesday night at the Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre.

The Lady Monarchs sweep the season series with the Colonels and improve to 5-18 overall and 3-10 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom play with the victory. Wilkes drops to 5-19 overall and 0-13 in conference with the loss.

Wilkes came out strong to begin the game knocking down two three-pointers and a layup to take an 8-0 lead with 7:16 on the clock. The Colonels were able to increase their lead to 10 points at 13-3 after a three-pointer by Missy Oertner with 2:55 remaining in the quarter. After the teams traded three-pointers Shae Grim and Schmidt knocked down consecutive treys to cut the deficit to four points with 46 seconds left. The Colonels closed out the quarter with two made free throws to take a 18-12 lead.

In the second quarter the Lady Monarchs were locked in defensively and held the Colonels without a made field goal until there was 3:20 left in the quarter. Offensively Schmidt opened up the scoring with a three-pointer and then Rebecca Prociak knocked down two free throw attempts to bring the Lady Monarchs within one point at 18-17. Kayla Feairheller gave the Monarchs the lead with 7:00 minutes on the clock when Kasey Seitz found her open on the left wing for a three-pointer.

The Colonels scored their first point of the quarter when Nicole Farrell knocked down one of two free throws to make it a one-point game. On King's ensuing possession Prociak found Schmidt in the right corner for another three-pointer to give the Lady Monarchs a four-point advantage with 6:22 remaining. King's smothering defense forced the Colonels to turn the ball over six times and miss an array of shots until Haley Mesaros connected on a three-point attempt with 3:20 left in the half to cut the King's lead to 24-22. Alexis Steeber found Savannah Lynch open in the right corner for a three-pointer and then Sara Wolbert scored on a layup to give King's a 31-24 lead at halftime.

The Colonels opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run in the first two minutes to cut the lead to two points at 33-31. After trading made jumpers Feairheller pulled up on the left wing in transition for a three-pointer to give King's a five-point cushion with 6:31 left. The Colonels knocked down a three on the other end of the court and then tied the game up at 38 on a jumper from Oertner. After Hoffman made a jumper the Colonels took the lead when Mesaros knocked down a three-pointer with 4:52 remaining in the quarter.

The Lady Monarchs retook the lead as Schmidt calmly stepped up to the top of the arc and knocked down a three-pointer with 4:26 on the clock. King's increased the lead up to nine points after Seitz knocked down back-to-back threes from the left side of the court. Wilkes scored on their final two possessions of the quarter but Schmidt kept the lead at nine points for the Monarchs. First, with 1:20 left she pulled down a one-handed offensive rebound in the middle of the paint and then put the ball back up off the glass for two points. Then with five seconds left she grabbed another offensive rebound in the paint and once again put the ball off the glass for a layup as King's took a 55-46 lead.

King's began the fourth quarter on a cross-court pass from Prociak to Schmidt in the right corner for a three-pointer to increase the lead to 12 points. Later in the quarter Schmidt gave the Monarchs a 63-49 lead when Shae Grim found her open in the left corner on an inbound pass from underneath the basket on the right side. Kayla Dillinger then gave the Lady Monarchs their largest lead of the game when she stepped up on the right side and knocked down a three with 5:59 on the clock. Wilkes was able to cut the deficit down to 12 with 1:41 left but the Monarchs finished the game at the foul line making six of seven attempts to come away with the victory.

Erin Schmidt finished a rebound shy of a double-double with career-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds while knocking down six three-pointers. Rebecca Prociak added 11 points and six rebounds while Kayla Dillinger had a career-high 10 points. Kasey Seitz scored eight points, Alexis Steeber had six points and nine rebounds, Kayla Feairheller recorded six points and five rebounds, while Olivia Hoffman and Shae Grim scored five points each. Savannah Lynch scored a career-high three points and Sara Wolbert added two. Maggie Michael pulled down two rebounds for King's.

As a team the Lady Monarchs came two three-pointers shy of the school record as they knocked down a season-high 14 on 37 attempts (37.8%). The Lady Monarchs also had their highest-point total of the year on. King's won the battle on the boards with a season-high 54 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive end, compared to 44 for Wilkes. After shooting just 17.4 (4-23) percent from the field in the first quarter, the Lady Monarchs finished the game shooting 33.3 (23-69) percent. The Lady Monarchs celebrated Valentine's Day by showing each other some love by dishing out 15 assists on their 23 made field goals. 

Wilkes was led by Haley Mesaros with 24 points and Missy Oertner with 15. After shooting 35.7 (5-14) percent in the first quarter, King's defense held the Colonels to shooting 28.8 (19-66) percent for the game.

The Lady Monarchs will be in action on Saturday when they travel to Madison, N.J. for their season finale against FDU-Florham. The Devils, who are ranked 25^th in the nation in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll, defeated the Monarchs 69-59 earlier this season in Wilkes-Barre.