Wilkes Basketball Makes Short Trip to Misericordia on Wednesday
WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's and men's basketball teams will make the short drive to Dallas, Pa. on Wednesday evening for a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) doubleheader.
The women tip-off at 6:00 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8:00 p.m. Live links are provided below for fans who are unable to attend the contests.
Live Stats – (women)
Live Stats – (men)
Video
The women's team enters this contest 3-7 in the MAC Freedom and 7-14 overall after losing to #17 DeSales, 85-52, on Saturday afternoon. The Colonels dropped a 78-54 affair to the Cougars in the Marts Center back on December 5th.
The Colonels are led by Gab Giordano (Moscow, PA/Holy Cross) who is 13th in the conference in scoring (12.7 ppg) while ranking third in rebounds (9.7) and fifth in assists (3.4). Maddie Kelley (Dallas, PA/Dallas) averages double-digit points with 10.1 ppg (21st) while shooting 40.7% from the field. Senior Ashley Caster (York, PA/Spring Grove) is steady in the post for the Colonels as she averages 10.0 ppg (22nd) and 4.7 boards while sitting atop the MAC Freedom in field goal percentage at 52.4%.
Wilkes is averaging 62.2 ppg in conference play while allowing 76.7.
Misericordia comes into this one on the heels of being knocked out of the Top 25 rankings after being upset on the road at Manhattanville, 61-58, on Saturday.
The Cougars are led by a pair of seniors in Japriya Carroll and Rachel Carmody. Carroll scores 14.1 ppg (ninth) and is second in the MAC Freedom in three-point percentage (39.5%). Carmody is averaging 12.5 ppg (T-14th) and 9.6 rebounds (fourth) while shooting at a 46.2% clip from the floor (sixth). The play of the two seniors opens up opportunities for sophomore Tessa Zamolyi who averages 11.9 ppg (17th) and 6.3 rebounds (T-12th) while ranking fifth in field goal percentage (47.6%).
The Cougars are second in scoring against conference foes at 74.0 ppg while also ranking second in scoring defense at 53.7 ppg.
This is another important game for the men's team as a win would give them some breathing room in the fourth and final playoff spot as they currently lead Misericordia by one game at 6-4 in the MAC Freedom with just four conference games remaining. The Colonels scored a huge upset of first place DeSales, 78-77, on Saturday afternoon as they look for the season sweep of the Cougars after handing them an 81-78 road loss earlier this season.
The Wilkes offense is led by the veteran group of Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) and Tommy Bowen (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), all of whom rank inside the conference's top 12 in scoring.
A pair of juniors in Pecorelli and Mullins lead the Colonels in scoring at 16.0 ppg (T-4th). Pecorelli adds 6.1 rebounds (13th) and 2.4 assists (T-18th) while Mullins pushed his streak of scoring in double figures to seven straight games with 20 points against DeSales. Mullins ranks inside the conference's top ten in several key categories as he sits at second in field goal percentage (55.2%), fifth in free throw percentage (84.6%) and is tied for sixth in rebounds (7.0). The senior Robinson is an all-around player for the navy and gold as he ranks seventh in scoring (15.7 ppg) and is third in assists (3.7) while adding 2.0 steals a game (T-2nd). Bowen has heated up since the start of conference play as he ranks fourth in the MAC Freedom in scoring against conference foes. On the season, the senior is third in field goal percentage (54.9%) and fifth in rebounds (7.5).
In MAC Freedom action, Wilkes leads the conference in scoring at 81.3 ppg while allowing 78.7.
Misericordia enters this game 5-5 in conference action as they also fell to Manhattanville on Saturday, 80-68.
The Cougars are led by senior Jason Kenny who scored his 2,000th career point on Saturday and is leading the conference in scoring 22.0 ppg and 2.3 steals while shooting 52.9% from the field (sixth). Flanking Kenny is a pair of juniors in Noah Rivera and Tony Harding who are averaging 14.2 ppg and 11.2 ppg respectively. Rivera hits the glass for 8.3 boards a game (fourth) while Harding is tied for ninth in the MAC Freedom in three-point percentage (35.8%).
Misericordia is fifth in scoring against conference opponents at 74.6 ppg while holding the opposition to the second fewest ppg at 72.8.
