Box Score

WILKES-BARRE – Whitney Connolly (Liberty, PA/Liberty) hit two free throws with 25 seconds left and Erin Schneider (Colchester, CT/Holy Name) had a steal with nine seconds to go to help Wilkes defeat FDU-Florham 63-59 on Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center. The upset victory breaks a nine game skid for the Lady Colonels.

Wilkes found itself down six after a well-fought first half of play. The Lady Colonels were held afloat by the shooting of Sam Lynam (Spinnerstown/Quakertown) who had 12 points in the period. The second half was a battle that saw the Lady Colonels down for most of the period.

Wilkes was down seven points with just over five minutes left to play in the contest when a layup by Connolly and a big three-point play by Scheider brought the deficit to two points with 2:38 left in the game. After a Devil free throw, Helen Lawry (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills - Ballston Lake) was able to collect a steal under the Lady Colonels' basket for an easy layup, bringing Wilkes to within one. The field goal was the only bucket for Lawry in the game, but proved to be the biggest.

On the ensuing possession, Connolly stole a pass by a Devil player, leading to a layup by Schneider on the other end of the floor and giving Wilkes its first lead in the half. FDU again went to the free throw line where it connected on one of two shots, giving the game its fifth tie with 34 seconds to go.

Wilkes' next possession saw Connolly drive hard to the basket, drawing a foul and going to the line with 25 seconds left. The Lady Colonels' best free throw shooter then calmly knocked down both attempts to make the score 61-59 in favor of Wilkes. FDU then went down the floor, getting off a shot and collecting an offensive rebound, only to have the ball stolen by Schneider who passed it ahead to Megan Kazmerski (Kingston, PA/Holy Redeemer) for the game-sealing basket and ending the contest at 63-59.

Wilkes was led by Lynam with 17 points and eight rebounds, as well as three three-pointers in the game. Connolly and Schneider each finished with 13 points, but they combined for 21 points in the second half and made the key plays for Wilkes down the stretch. Kazmerski finished with 12 points, putting four scorers in double figures.

With the win the Lady Colonels improve to 4-14, 1-7, and will now travel to Allentown, Pa. to take on Cedar Crest on Monday, Jan. 31. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m.