MADISON, NJ (January 28, 2023) – First year Kathy Shepherd dropped a career-high 17 points, going 6-of-13 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, to lead the King's College women's basketball team to the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) series sweep over the host FDU-Florham, 59-37, on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Monarchs get back in the win column and improve to 6-14 overall and 5-6 in MAC Freedom play, while the Devils fall to 0-15 and 0-11 in the conference standings.

King's (6-14, 5-6 MAC Freedom) came out to a 6-0 start and never looked back in the MAC Freedom match up. A three from junior Kiersten Krouse with 1:45 left in the first quarter gave the Monarchs the 9-2 advantage after the opening period. The Monarchs continued to cruise in the second as their lead swelled to as much as 20, 24-4, off a putback from senior Sarah Heiskell-Mann to lead FDU-Florham (0-15, 0-11 MAC Freedom), 24-4, at the break.

The second half remained in favor of the Monarchs as King's carried their first-half momentum to a 59-37 road win at FDU-Florham on Saturday afternoon.

Shepherd added five rebounds, two assists, and a block to go along with her career-high performance. First year Gianna Dickson came off the bench to add 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while junior Brenna Costello rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points and a team-best five assists. Senior Cailin Wilson collected a team-high two steals with five boards, while first year Mackenzie Bennett collected a team-leading eight caroms in the win. Additionally, senior Sarah Heiskell-Mann added a balanced effort of seven rebounds, five points, and two assists.

Abigail Rodriguez led FDU-Florham with 15 points, three assists, and two steals, while Whitney Shyposh collected a team-high eight boards in the loss.

King's shot 34.4 percent (21-61) from the floor, dishing out 19 assists on their 21 baskets, while the defense limited the Devils to 24.0 percent (12-50) shooting for the game and 15.8 percent (3-19) from beyond the arc. The Monarchs also forced 17 turnovers and held a 45-28 edge in the rebounding margin. Additionally, King's held the advantage in points off turnovers (16-5), second chance points (9-3), bench points (15-4), points in the paint (16-10), and fast break points (4-3).

The Monarchs will return home to McGrane Gymnasium on Wednesday evening as they host Misericordia University in the MAC Freedom match up at 8:00 p.m.

--MONARCHS--