WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams get set for their first contests of 2024 on home turf this Saturday as they welcome the Elizabethtown College Blue Jays to the Marts Center. The men's team kick things off at 12:00 p.m. and the women take the court at 2:00 p.m.
 
Men's: Live Stats | Live Video
Women's: Live Stats | Live Video

Men's Preview

The Colonels enter this contest off the back of a heartbreaking loss at Goucher College on Wednesday night, losing the lead with 13 seconds remaining as the Gophers were victorious 62-61. The team now enter Saturday's contest with a 10-2 overall record and 3-2 record in Landmark Conference play.

Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) leads the team in scoring averaging 15.8 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the Landmark Conference. Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) and Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) are the other two Colonels averaging double-digits with 15.3 ppg and 12.8 ppg respectively, putting the duo fifth and ninth in the conference.

Fisher dominates the stat sheet for the Colonels, leading the team in rebounds (8.9 rpg, third in the conference), assists (3.0 apg), and field goal percentage (.594, second in the conference).

The Colonel defense continues to be one of the best units in the Landmark, led by Lesko with 1.4 blocks per game and Joey Zvorsky (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) with 2.0 steals per game, marks that are the third and seventh best in the Landmark in their respective categories.
 
As a whole, the team ranks at the top of the conference charts in three-point field goal percentage (.282), while also sitting second in scoring defense (62.9 ppg allowed) and opponent field goal percentage (.387). They also sit third in the conference in steals with an average of 8.73 per game.

On offense, the team sits fourth in scoring offense (72.2 ppg), third in field goal percentage (.455), and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.304).

Elizabethtown come into this game with a 4-8 overall record and 1-4 record in conference play. They were defeated in their last game Wednesday night against Scranton 79-70.

The Blue Jay offense is led by junior Rance Russo, who averages 16.9 ppg to put him third in the Landmark, just ahead of Lesko. Austin Finarelli is also averaging double-digits, adding 15.3 ppg for Elizabethtown.

Russo also leads the team in rebounds averaging 5.8 rpg, while EJ Finney and Ben Stanton are tied for the team lead in assists averaging 1.9 per game.

Finarelli leads Elizabethtown in field goal percentage on both sides of the three-point line, averaging an even .500 (fourth in conference) as well as .429 beyond the arc (third in conference).

As a unit, the Blue Jay offense ranks fifth in scoring offense (69.9 ppg), ninth in team field goal percentage (.394), and are last in team three-point percentage (.268). Defensively, Elizabethtown rank eighth in opponent field goal percentage (.455), but rank last in scoring defense (76.3 ppg) and opponent three point percentage (.364).
 
Women's Preview

The Colonels made a valiant fourth-quarter comeback against Goucher on Wednesday afternoon, erasing a 15 point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to a one possession game, but ultimately fell short as the Gophers were victorious 63-55. That loss dropped the Colonels to 5-7 overall on the season and 1-4 in Landmark play.

Coming off of her fourth 20+ point game of the season, Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) leads the Colonels in scoring averaging 13.8 points per game, the sixth best in the conference. She is followed by Nadia Evanosky (Dallas, PA/Dallas) who is averaging 11.2 ppg, but hasn't played since their contest at the University of Scranton due to injury. In Evanosky's absence, senior Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) has stepped up averaging 8.1 ppg, while Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) averages 6.3 ppg.

Matos also leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.5 rpg, while Madison Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) average 5.9 and 5.8 rpg respectively.

Shober continues to be a dominant defensive force under the hoop for the Colonels, leading the team and the conference with 40 blocks, averaging 3.3 per game. Her block numbers see her tied for fifth in the nation in total blocks and tied for seventh in blocks per game. Matos leads the team in steals averaging 3.3 per game, the second best mark in the conference.

Julia Marino (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) has been the best ball distributer for the Colonels, leading the team and the conference with 3.3 assists per game. She also has the second best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Landmark at 1.7.

Babcock leads the Colonels hitting over half of her shots from the field with a .514 field goal percentage, while Matos leads the team from beyond the arc with a .313 three-point percentage

The Colonel defense remains one of the strongest groups in the conference, boasting the fourth best scoring defense (60.8 ppg allowed), the second best opponent field goal percentage (.333), the best opponent three-point field goal percentage (.226), and most blocks (5.58 bpg).

Wilkes sits seventh in the conference in scoring offense (57.0 ppg), eighth in field goal percentage (.348), while their three-point field goal percentage ranks ninth in the conference (.239).

Elizabethtown enter the game on a high note, handing #3/5 ranked University of Scranton their first loss of the season on Wednesday night 67-64. They are 8-4 on the year and hold a 4-1 record in conference.

Summer McNulty leads the Blue Jay offense averaging 17.2 ppg, the second best mark in the Landmark. Cyleigh Wilson and DaniRae Renno also average double-digit points at 13.9 and 10.2 ppg respectively.

Jessica King leads the team and the conference averaging 10.1 rpg, while Makenna Mummery leads the team averaging 2.9 apg. King also leads the team in field goal percentage at .481, while Wilson has top marks beyond the arc with a .446 three point percentage.

The Blue Jay offense ranks third in the Landmark in scoring offense (70.8 ppg), team field goal percentage (.427), and three point percentage (.335). On the defensive side of the ball, Elizabethtown rank sixth in scoring defense (61.0 ppg), eighth in opponent field goal percentage (.389), and ninth in opponent three point percentage (.324).