WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University women's lacrosse team continued their season success with a 16-4 victory over the King's College Monarchs Saturday afternoon on the road.

The win improves the Colonels to 7-0 this season, the best start in program history, while the Monarchs fall to 1-5.

During this winning streak, the team has raced out to early leads and this game would be no different. Taylor Sparks (Monroeville, NJ/Woodstown) got Wilkes on the board first at 11:03 in the first quarter, and 35 seconds later Morgan Hettesheimer (Monroe Twp., PA/Tunkhannock Area) made it 2-0 with a goal off an assist from Emily Jackson (Wyoming, PA/Wyoming Area).

Emily Kane cut the deficit in half for the Monarchs with a goal shortly after, but the Colonels responded with six-straight goals to close out the half. Sparks netted another three goals during that stretch, Alexis Guttilla (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) scored two, and Karinne Podwika (Duryea, PA/Pittston Area Senior) scored one as well to give Wilkes an 8-1 advantage at the break.

Nina-Lily Veale (Franklin, TN/Franklin) kept the run going with her first goal of the game at the 12:24 mark of the third, but the Monarchs scored back-to-back goals midway through the quarter to make it a 9-3 game.

Guttilla and Podwika got those goals back for Wilkes to close out the quarter, and then the team won the fourth quarter 5-1 to close out another double-digit win.

Sparks led the team in points with seven points on five goals and two assists. She also grabbed five ground balls, caused two turnovers, and won 10 draw controls to help her surpass the milestone of 100 career draw controls. 

Veale had another strong outing with two goals and four assists, and Guttilla (4G) and Podwika (3G & 1A) both had four-point games. Wilkes as a team outshot the Monarchs 41-8, including 28-7 in shots on goal. They also won 14 draw controls, grabbed 17 ground balls, and forced 22 turnovers.

The Colonels finish their non-conference schedule on Wednesday, March 18 with a game against SUNY Polytechnic Institute. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.