Wilkes Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener to DeSales

WILKES-BARRE -- The Wilkes University women's basketball team opened their 20-21 season with a home tilt against Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) foe DeSales Bulldogs Thursday night.

The Colonels (0-1, 0-1 MACF) kept pace with the Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0) early in the game, but fell behind with turnovers to fall to their conference foe 79-55.

In the first frame the two teams traded baskets until the Bulldogs pulled ahead by five with four minutes left.  An 8-4 run by the Colonels brought them within one of the Bulldogs 17-16 with help from five points by sophomore guard Katelyn Kinczel (Highland Heights, OH/Mayfield).  The Bulldogs would pull ahead to 23-16 early in the second period and would mostly build on their lead throughout the frame.  The Colonels went into halftime down 41-27.

A 13-2 DeSales run in the first half of the third quarter effectively put the game out of reach for the Colonels.  The Colonels would never close that gap, only getting as close as 20 points before falling to DeSales. 

As a team, Wilkes out-rebounded DeSales 37-34. The Bulldogs outscored the Colonels off of turnovers 28-13 and 16-7 in fast break points. 

Kinczel led all Colonels with 11 points on the evening.  Senior guard Maddie Kelley (Dallas, PA/Dallas) posted 10 points and four rebounds in the opener, while first year center Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) started her career with the Navy and Gold with eight points and four blocks.  Sophomore center Ariel Reed (Woodbury, PA/Northern Bedford) opened her season by leading the team with seven rebounds.  
 
The Colonels continue their home and away doubleheader against the Bulldogs tomorrow evening at Center Valley, Pa.  Tip-off for the second game of the season is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.