WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 15, 2025) -- After battling back from a 37-28 deficit at the end of the third, the King's College women's basketball team climbed back and defeated the visiting DeSales University, 54-50, in overtime in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) contest on Wednesday night. With the win in McGrane Gymnasium, the Monarchs improve to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the standings, while the Bulldogs drop to 9-5 with a 2-1 conference mark.
 
The win for the Monarchs snaps an eight-game skid against DeSales (9-5, 2-1 MAC Freedom) and the first since the 2020 season. King's (6-8, 2-1 MAC Freedom) also handed the Bulldogs their first regular-season loss since 2023.
 
It was a defensive battle from start to finish. DeSales scored the first field goal with 8:31 remaining to open a 5-0 run to begin the game. A triple from Alli Lindsay mid-way through the quarter put King's on the board, but the Bulldogs had a response as they out scored the Monarchs 8-4 in the final five minutes to hold a 13-7 edge at the end of the first.
 
King's went inside to Lauren Casey to start the second as she converted off a feed from Juleesah Hines. A layup from Lindsay cut the deficit to four, 15-11, with 8:48 left, but again DeSales converted for five points to jump back up. Down the stretch, a three with six ticks to go by Cadie Lewis capped off a 7-4 run to make it a six points game, 24-18, at halftime.
 
The Monarchs exploded out of the break going on a nine-point tear to take their first lead of the game, 26-24, with 7:34 left in the third. The game went back-and-forth, but with King's up 28-26 with 3:40 to go, DeSales found their rhythm as a triple from Alexis Berger sparked a 10-point rally to end the quarter and regain a 37-28 lead.
 
The hosts rallied as Hines connected with 8:34 to go in regulation followed by a bucket from Casey to make it a five-point game, 37-32, with 7:22 to go. A Bulldog free throw pushed the edge back to six, but Lewis drained a three to fuel a 10-0 rally and go ahead, 42-38, with 2:21 left. King's dominated defensively in the quarter, limiting DeSales to just three points until the final 1:06 to play. The Monarchs hit 2-of-4 down the stretch from the stripe, but Mikaili Donmoyer was the spark DeSales needed to tie the game, 44-44, and force overtime.
 
After a sloppy start to the overtime period, DeSales went up three before Lewis scored the next four for the Monarchs to jump ahead, 48-47, with 1:29 to play. The Bulldogs hit a three, and Casey converted in the paint off a beautiful feed from Gianna Dickson to knot the score again, 50-50, with 38 seconds to go.
 
Out of the DeSales timeout, the Bulldogs three was off the mark. King's called a timeout and advanced the ball, and Dickson was fouled on the inbound pass. The junior remained calm and collected to knock down both to give King's the lead, 54-50, and a last-second three from Berger was off the mark as King's defeated DeSales, 54-50, in overtime in MAC Freedom play on Wednesday.
 
Lewis put up a career-high double-double of 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three, with 15 points, four assists, and three steals, while Casey had her own double-double of 12 points and 12 boards to go along with five blocks. Dickson finished with nine points, four rebounds, and three dimes, while Lindsay totaled nine boards and eight points. Hines corralled five boards, and Claire Aufiero came off the bench to provide four points, two rebounds, and two assists.
 
Donmoyed anchored DeSales with 14 points and had three steals, while Aubrey Pollard finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 boards.
 
King's shot 32.1% from the floor, handing out 14 assists on their 18 field goals, while the defense limited DeSales to 27.3% from the floor and 20.0% from three. The Monarchs out rebounded the Bulldogs 54-42 as well in the important team win.
 
The Monarchs will look to remain in the win column as they travel to Stevens on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tip off in MAC Freedom play in Hoboken, N.J.