WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 8, 2023) -- The first year pair of Gianna Dickson and Mackenzie Bennett were the top two leading scorers as they duo helped lead the King's College women's basketball team past Lycoming College, 55-40, in McGrane Gymnasium on Wednesday night. With the win in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) contest, the Monarchs improve to 8-15 overall and 7-7 in the conference, while the Warriors fall to 6-16 and 2-11 against conference opponents.
A closely contested opening period saw two ties and a lead change that saw the scoreboard knotted at eight a piece after the first 10 minutes of action. It was more of the same in the second as it seemed neither team could pull ahead before King's (8-15, 7-7 MAC Freedom) used back-to-back threes from Dickson and Bennett to fuel a 7-0 run to end the half with the Monarchs ahead, 23-16.
The Monarchs dominated the third, out scoring Lycoming (6-16, 2-11 MAC Freedom) 16-9 in the period. The Warriors would score the first six points of the half to close within one, 23-22, with 8:21 to go before the Monarchs opened the scoring with nine straight points. The King's defense would allow just one more basket in the quarter as their lead swelled to 14, 39-25, heading into the final quarter. The Monarchs continued to control the game on both ends of the floor as they reached their largest lead of the game, 53-32, off a pair of free throws from Bennett with 3:34 remaining before cruising to the 55-40 final to earn the win over Lycoming in the MAC Freedom match up.
Dickson's game-high 19 points came on a 6-for-9 shooting night, including 2-for-4 from three, with two rebounds, while Bennett totaled 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, with team-bests eight rebounds and four steals. Junior Caileigh Costello tallied eight points with three rebounds, while junior Brenna Costello dished out a team-leading three assists.
Kami Abdo recorded a team-high 12 points off the bench to lead Lycoming, while Alicia Goldenziel collected a team-best 10 rebounds.
King's shot 32.0 percent (16-50) from the floor, connecting for eight threes, while posting 10 assists on their 16 baskets. The Monarchs defense limited Lycoming to 23.0 percent (14-61) from the floor and 17.6 percent (3-17) from three while also forcing 28 turnovers and collecting 12 steals. Additionally, King's held the advantage in points off turnovers (20-9) and bench points (39-18).
The Monarchs will wrap up their regular-season home schedule on Saturday afternoon as they host Stevens Institute of Technology in the MAC Freedom game at 1:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium. King's will also celebrate senior day prior to tip off.
--MONARCHS--