Box Score
DEFENSE STEPS UP, LADY COLONELS OVERCOME VALIANTS 77-62
WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's basketball team overcame an 11-point first half deficit to record the 77-62 come from behind victory over Manhattanville College Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center.
With the win, Wilkes improves to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in Freedom play while Manhattanville falls to 7-7 overall and 0-4 in the Freedom Conference.
After a Chelsea Brown (Garnet Valley, PA/Garnet Valley) layup at the 11:23 mark, the Valiants got hot riding the shot of Taylor Wilson. Lindsey Chester (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield Secondary)'s free throws with 6:58 to play in the first half brought Wilkes back to within five, at 22-17. Chester laced another layup before a Megan Kazmerski (Kingston, PA/Holy Redeemer) steal and jumper in transition put Wilkes down by eight, at 31-23. An Ellen Rich (Hamden, CT/Hamden Hall) free throw and a Chelsea Brown (Garnet Valley, PA/Garnet Valley) jumper iced the scoring for the Lady Colonels. Wilson dribbled down the court and hit a three-pointer as time expired to give Manhattanville the 38-27 lead heading into the break.
The second half was a completely different story. The Lady Colonels came out firing as Kazmerski hit a deep trey on a pass from Amanda Pawlowski (Nanticoke, PA/Holy Redeemer). A Valiant turnover gave Elena Stambone (Jessup, PA/Valley View) her first points of the second half and brought Wilkes back to within six points. Two minutes later, Kazmerski stayed hot with another layup in transition. After a Rich layup, Stambone hit a three-pointer from the corner and gave Wilkes a one point lead, 39-38. Brown “kept the train rolling” by scoring on a layup before giving way to Rich for a layup on her own.
An Ashley Frank free throw at the 14:26 gave the Valiants their first point of the second half and ended the 16-0 run by the Lady Colonels. A layup by Bri Pabon of the Valiants brought them back to within two at the 7:07 mark, but that was the closest they would come to taking the lead. A combination of free throws from Ginny Edwards (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks South), Kazmerski, and Chester gave Wilkes the eight point edge at 63-55 with 3:30 to play in the game. The Valiant comeback fell short as the Lady Colonels hit their free throws going 20-29 from the charity stripe for the game.
The Valiants were led offensively by Wilson and Pabon with 32 and 11 points respectively.
The Lady Colonels were led by Kazmerski's 29 points and 15 rebounds, both of which are new career highs. Stambone and Brown added 16 and 13 points each while Rich garnered eight rebounds.
The Lady Colonels return to action Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. when they host cross-town rival King's College at the Marts Center.
