The Misericordia University women’s basketball team kept King’s off the scoreboard for the first 9:23 of the game Monday night but had their playoff hopes cut down in the second half in a 59-50 home loss.
The Cougars opened with a 10-0 run led by five points from Vanessa Wright. The Cougar offense was not slowed in the first half, but the Lady Monarchs were able to keep the deficit slim with a triple-set of three-pointers from Jessica Paettie and Kaitlyn Fiorino.
The Cougars headed to the break up 23-17, but Paettie and Fiorino hooped three more shots from beyond the arc. Grouped with an easy layup from Kaitlyn Malshefski, the shots put the Lady Monarchs on top for the first time in the game, 28-23.
Courtney Sykes showed quick response with a put back that broke the 11-0 run. But the Cougars had few answers to the long ball in the second half. They watched six sink.
Lacey DeGraw led the Cougars with 12 points. Wright and Christine Marks finished with nine.
Fiorino tallied 18 for the Monarchs, and Paettie finished with 12.
King’s will face top-seeded DeSales on the road on Wednesday. Misericordia is now eliminated with a final record of 13-13 (8-8 Freedom).