Smicherko Double-Double Leads Wilkes Women's Basketball to 53-50 Victory
LANCASTER, PA. – The Wilkes University women's basketball team traveled to play in the first round of the Franklin & Marshall Tip Off Tournament Saturday afternoon and went up against host Franklin & Marshall.
The Colonels (3-0) edged out the host Diplomats (1-1) 53-50 in a defensive battle that saw neither team shoot over 31% from the field. It is the first 3-0 start for the Colonels since the 2012-13 season. The box score for this game is not available at this time.
The first quarter saw both teams struggling to get points, but the Colonels led by as many as five points during the first period and went into the end of the period with a 12-8 lead over the host Diplomats. The teams remained in a tight back and forth contest through the 2nd and 3rd periods, with the Colonels maintaining a 42-37 lead heading into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, a pair of layups from freshman center
Ariel Reed (Woodbury, PA/Northern Bedford) helped the Colonels take a 50-40 lead off of a 6-1 run halfway through the final period. The Diplomats would cut the lead down to 2 in the final seconds of the game off of a 10-2 run themselves, but the Colonels defense held firm in the last :54 of the game to clinch their third victory of the young season.
Junior forward
Gabby Smicherko (Edwardsville, PA/Wyoming Valley West) recorded a double-double in the closely contested affair, recording 12 points and 13 rebounds, her first double-double of her career. Freshman guard
Katelyn Kinczel (Highland Heights, OH/Mayfield) lead the Colonels with 13 points, the most of her young career. Reed posted seven rebounds and six points, the former the most for the freshman thus far. The Colonels bench was a decisive factor in the game, outscoring the Diplomat bench by a 26-3 margin. The Colonels also shot 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from the three-point stripe, compared to the Diplomats 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from beyond the arc.
The Colonels will play in the championship game of the Franklin & Marshall Tip Off Tournament Sunday at 3:00 p.m. against William Smith.
