The Misericordia University women's basketball team clinched a Freedom Conference playoff spot with a 58-46 victory over a feisty King's squad, Tuesday night in the Anderson Center. 

MU improves to 15-9, 9-4 with the win. Misericordia is now two games up on the fifth-place Monarchs with just one contest remaining. 

Sophomore Jesse Robinson had a game-high 25 points for the Cougars. Senior Vanessa Wright had 12 points and an eye-opening eight steals. Christine Marks finished with nine points and six rebounds.
 
MU opened the game up early in the second half. Courtney Sykes' arching three-pointer put the Cougars up 32-25 before Robinson hit a three to give Misericordia its first double-digit lead of the night. 

King's had been relying on the hustle and aggressive play of center Julianna Lynott (nine rebounds, three steals, two blocks), who picked up her fourth foul with 11 minutes to play. Lynott did stay in the game however, and answered Sykes' long two-pointer with a put-back to keep the Monarchs within 12, 41-29.

Misericordia pushed its lead to 15 however, and an exhausted King's team was struggling to match the physicality they brought in the first half. The Monarchs would inch back to within seven but, after drawing Lynott's fifth foul, Robinson hit both free throws and then executed a steal and lay-in to put the game away. 

As could be expected when two fierce rivals put their seasons on the line, the game was tight and physical right from the start. The officials whistled for six jump balls in the first half as repeated rough play led to pile-ups around the ball. 

Trailing 8-5 after three and a half minutes, the Cougars churned out a 12-1 run to go up eight. Robinson drained a three-pointer, Marks and Wright each hit corner shots and Wright flipped in a tough basket after being tripped up on the drive before Paige Carlin (a team-high 13 points) broke the slump and scored King's first basket in 6:23 of action. 

The Monarchs got back into the game late in the half, and Lynott's post move and a three from Megan Rigous tied the score at 18-18. Robinson then finished a cut to the basket as MU scored three times in under a minute to lead 24-18 with under four minutes remaining in the opening period. 

King's was already without starting guards Brittany Muscatell and Katlin Michaels and then lost another guard when Celia Rader went down late in the half and didn't return. The Cougars went into the break with a 27-22 advantage. 

Misericordia concludes its regular season schedule when it hosts Manhattanville on Saturday.