The Misericordia women's basketball team defeated King's 39-34 in a hardnosed conference match-up at the Anderson Center Wednesday night.

 

Though the Cougars headed to halftime with a 23-16 lead, they had to battle a feisty Lady Monarchs squad until the very end.

 

Lacey DeGraw was dominant for the Cougars in the first half, tallying eight points and seven total rebounds. Her five defensive boards kept her team in enough control to build the seven point lead with which they went to the break.

 

The Cougars began to take control when Vanessa Wright sank a pair of free throws to break an 11-11 tie with just over five minutes to play in the first half. Jesse Robinson and Wright nailed back-to-back layups to cap the team's 6-0 run--the largest of the half.

 

Kaitlyn Fiorino, the Lady Monarchs' leading scorer, was quiet in the first half, but came out with a three-point bang to start the second half and put her team with four at 23-19.

 

It was back-and-forth from there. The Cougars did not build another solid lead until the final minute of the game, when DeGraw drilled a lay-up and Wright and Lindsey Sykes sank a combined three free throws to put the Cougars up for the final—39-34.

 

The teams combined for 47 turnovers and 26 steals.

 

DeGraw led the Cougars with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Wright added 10 points after going 4-for-7 from the free throw line.

 

Fiorino led the Lady Monarchs with 11 points, and Julianna Lynott led the defense with eight rebounds.

 

The Cougars travel to St. Mary's College Monday, Jan. 5.