Wilkes-Barre, PA, (January 14, 2006) – The DeSales University women's basketball team got off to a slow start and never recovered falling at King’s College, 75-61, in Freedom Conference action on Saturday afternoon in Scandlon Gymnasium.

 

        The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Bulldogs and drops them to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the Freedom Conference.  The win improves the Lady Monarchs to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in the Freedom standings.  King’s shot 47.6 percent from the field, while DSU converted just 35.0 percent of its shot attempts.  KC also controlled the boards out-rebounding DeSales, 48-29, on the glass.

 

        Two 8-0 Lady Monarch runs in the first-half led to a 15-point (42-27) halftime lead.  The first came mid-way thru the opening half with King’s leading 20-17 sophomore guard Jenna Palumbo hit consecutive treys to start the spurt and fellow sophomore Andrea Hochstuhl converted a lay-up to make it a 28-17 game.

 

        The second spurt came at the end of the half with KC nursing a 34-27 advantage it scored the final eight points of the half to open its 15-point advantage.  A trey by junior Casey Heitman started and ended the run.  Senior Beth Jordan and Hochstuhl each had nine points to lead King’s at the break, while the Bulldogs were led by freshman LeighAnn Burke (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) who tallied a game-high 12 points in the first half.

 

        In the second half a 9-1 run right out of the locker rooms pushed the 15-point KC lead up to 23 points, 51-28 and DeSales really never recovered.  During the spurt to start the second-half, Jordan tallied six of the nine points and freshman Katelyn Fiorino nailed a triple.  The lead peaked at 26 points, 61-35, with 12:08 remaining before DeSales finished the game on a 17-6 run to post the final 14-point margin.

 

        Burke was the lone Bulldog in double figures, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.  Junior Kirby Lutz (Easton, PA/Pen Argyl) and freshman Kim Rarick (Ringtown, PA/North Schuylkill) each had nine points in the loss.

 

        Jordan led King’s with 17 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, Hochstuhl also tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Fiorino totaled 12 points and sophomore Lauren Kendra tallied 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and seven steals.