Wilkes Women's Basketball Stays Close but Drops Contest at King's
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes University women's basketball team trailed by four at halftime but suffered a 73-59 defeat at King's College on Wednesday evening in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play.
The Colonels fell to 1-4 in conference and 5-10 overall.
King's started the scoring with a three-pointer before Gabby Smicherko (Edwardsville, PA/Wyoming Valley West) responded with a three of her own to tie the score with 7:35 remaining in the first quarter. The Monarchs retook the lead with a jumper, but Ashley Caster (York, PA/Spring Grove) responded with a jumper of her own with an assist from Smicherko to tie the score at five.
King's used a 7-3 run over the next two minutes to take a 12-8 lead with 2:50 showing on the clock, but Wilkes finished the quarter on a 6-2 run as the first horn sounded with a 14-14 tie.
The Monarchs started the second quarter on an 11-4 run, taking a 25-18 lead with just under six minutes until halftime, but the Colonels used a 9-4 run over the following two minutes to cut the deficit to two at 29-27 following a Gab Giordano (Moscow, PA/Holy Cross) layup. King's got the final basket of the half with the score at 31-27 entering the break.
Wilkes started the third quarter on a 5-0 run with a Maddie Kelley (Dallas, PA/Dallas) three-pointer from Alyssa Alfano (Dunmore, PA/Holy Cross) and a Kelley layup after stealing the inbound pass, but the run was short-lived as the Monarchs converted a layup on their next trip up the floor.
After Gianna Roberts (Nanticoke, PA/Nanticoke) hit a long jumper to put Wilkes up 37-35 King's found its stride on an 8-2 run over 2:37 to take a 43-37 lead with 3:39 on the clock in the third. The Monarchs finished the quarter with a 13-6 run, entering the final quarter with a 53-43 advantage.
Alfano started the fourth quarter on a personal 7-2 run with a three-pointer and four free throws to cut the deficit to 55-50 with 8:13 on the clock, but King's countered with a three-point play and a layup to go back up by 10 at 60-50. The Monarchs finished the game outscoring Wilkes 13-9 to seal the game.
Caster led Wilkes with nine points to go with eight rebounds while Smicherko and Kayla Aufiero (Nanticoke, PA/Nanticoke) added eight points each.
Rebecca Prociak finished with a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds for King's. Alexis Steeber added 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists while Mackenzie Yori contributed 15 points.
The Colonels return to the court on Friday when they host FDU-Florham for a MAC Freedom game starting at 6:00 p.m.
