WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University women's basketball team took on cross-town rival King's College on Tuesday night, falling to the Monarchs 70-59 at the McGrane Gymnasium.
The loss drops the Colonels to 2-4 on the season, while the Monarchs win their third-straight game to improve to 3-2.
The Colonels fell behind early 8-2 at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter, but the team responded with a 10-1 run behind strong play from Maliyah Warren (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) and Anya Richet (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) to take a three-point lead with three minutes to play. However, the Monarchs took the lead back with a 5-0 run to close out the quarter and lead 14-12 going into the second.
Both teams played an even second quarter as they each scored 16 points, but Wilkes was unable to get the lead back. The Colonels shot 42.1% in the quarter, while the Monarchs shot 37.5% and took a 30-28 lead at halftime.
Warren tied the game again with a layup to start the third quarter, but the Monarchs began to pull away from the Colonels thanks to a 14-4 run to lead 44-32 midway through the third. Overall, King's won the quarter 21-12 to lead 51-40 going into the final stanza.
Wilkes kept the game from getting out of hand in the fourth as timely buckets from Warren, Addison Place (Dover, PA/Northern York), and Charlotte Taylor (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) kept it an 11-point game (60-49) with five minutes remaining in regulation. An 8-1 run afterwards from Warren and Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) gave the Colonels life as it was a 61-57 game with just over two minutes to go. However, the Monarchs managed to hang on due to clutch free throws from Cadie Lewis down the stretch, and won the game 70-59.
Wilkes as a team shot 34.8% from the field and 1-26 from beyond the arc, while King's shot 35.9% from the field and 4-19 from three. The Monarchs also won the rebound battle 48-45, and shot 66.7% (20-30) from the free throw line compared to 58.8% (10-17) for the Colonels.
Warren led the Colonels in scoring with 22 points on 9-22 shooting, and Matos played an all-around game with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals while shooting 5-12 overall. Meanwhile, four players reached double-digit scoring for the Monarchs with Lauren Casey leading the way with 17 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
The Colonels get some time off with the Thanksgiving break, but return to action at home on Wednesday, Dec. 3 to take on the Susquehanna River Hawks. The conference matchup begins at 7 p.m.
