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WILKES-BARRE — Mackenzie Yori and Samantha Rajza’s third quarter three-point barrage landed King’s an 80-70 upset of nationally ranked Misericordia at the McGrane Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
“The team really fed off each other tonight,” King’s coach Caitlin Hadzimichalis said. “I didn’t have a ton to say at halftime. They said let’s do what’s been working by getting out in transition. Then we hit a bunch of threes.”
It was enough to deliver the first loss of the season to the Cougars, who entered the week ranked No. 20 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association top 25 and No. 24 in the D3hoops.com poll.
Yori and Rajza sank three three-pointers each in the third frame for the Monarchs (11-7, 5-2 MAC Freedom), sending the home gym into a frenzy.
“Once I saw the first one go in I said it’s time to go,” said Yori, the team’s point guard from Hazleton Area. “It got the energy going, and then Sam started hitting her shots and we got in the flow.”
Razja, a Holy Redeemer product, did it all for King’s on both ends of the court.
“Sam has been playing so well all year long,” Hadzimichalis said. “She loves a crowd and the big moment. She’s been a spark and she really grew up tonight.”
Before the Monarchs were able to seal the victory over Misericordia (16-1, 5-1), senior Alexis Steeber led all scorers with 17 points in the back and forth first-half chess match that saw King’s cling to a 37-36 lead at halftime.
“She played like a senior tonight,” Hadzimichalis said of Steeber. “She played confidently and calmly.”
Misericordia’s Japriya Carroll came into the contest averaging 14.7 points per game. She hit her average with 14 at the half, knocking down two three-pointers.
Carroll went on to finish the contest with a double-double at 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars knocked their deficit down to four. Then junior Rebecca Prociak stepped up for King’s.
The former Holy Redeemer star snagged five rebounds and sank two clutch free throws.
“Sometimes when I’m not hitting my shots I put my head down,” Prociak said. “But I knew in order to win this game I needed to be active on both ends of the court.”
Prociak said Misericordia’s record and ranking in the polls did not deter the Monarchs.
“The win was huge,” she said. “But we just wanted to go out and play defense and grab rebounds. We knew they were undefeated, but that didn’t phase us. We have great energy when we play here.”
“We spoke about it after the game,” Hadzimichalis said. “It’s momentum, it gives us more momentum heading into the next one. … They (Misericordia) are a really good team. They didn’t win 16 games by accident. They have really good players and coached very well.”
Hadzimichalis also credited the bond her team has with one another.
“This group is really tight,” she said. “When someone is doing well, they all are. I’m proud that we’ve taken our tumbles in the beginning of the season to get to this point.”
Yori shared the same sentiment as her coach.
“We really do feed off of each other,” Yori said. “We really love each other and play for each other and we have great chemistry.
Paige Wampole added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.
King’s will travel to Misericordia on Feb. 12 for the rematch.
Wilkes 56, Delaware Valley 45
Maddie Kelley led three Colonels in double figures as Wilkes picked up its third conference win of the season, the program’s most since finishing with four in the 2014-15 campaign.
Kelley scored 12 points while Gab Giordano added a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Gianna Roberts added 11 points and seven rebounds.
King’s 80, Misericordia 70
MISERICORDIA (70) — Japriya Carroll 14-32 0-0 24, Paige Wampole 6-11 2-3 14, Tessa Zamolyi 4-12 0-0 7, Rachel Carmody 4-14 0-0 6, Jordan Barth 3-8 0-2 6, Leanne Forsyth 2-3 1-2 5, Kalynn Sefcik 3-7 0-0 5, Erica Haefele 2-9 0-0 3, Emma Hayes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37- 96 3-7 70.
KING’S (80) — Alexis Steeber 10-20 2-2 21, Mackenzie Yori 10-28 2-2 19, Sam Rajza 9-16 1-1 16, Rebecca Prociak 3-12 8-8 14, Lindsey Dippre 2-9 2-2 5, Kayla Dillinger 2-6 0-0 3, Emily Kriston 1-6 0-0 2, Sara Wolbert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-96 15-15 80.
Misericordia`16`20`16`18 — 70
King’s`15`22`23`20 — 80
Three-point goals — MIS 7-22 (Carroll 4-11, Sefcik 1-2, Zamolyi 1-4, Haefele 1-4, Carmody 0-1); KC 9-26 (Rajza 3-5, Yori 3-9, Steeber 1-3, Dillinger 1-3, Dippre 1-4, Kriston 0-2).