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DALLAS TWP. — The Misericordia women’s basketball team made some history in their 78-67 comeback win over King’s on Wednesday night.

The Cougars won their 20th game of the season, a program record that head coach Jason Rhine said was three years in the making.

“We changed the culture here over the past three years,” Rhine said of his program’s growth. “Our players have really bought in, and I think we are ahead of schedule. I think a culture change counts for 10 wins a season.”

Despite the Cougars win, they got off to a lethargic start being outscored 22 to 12 early in the first quarter forcing Rhine to call a timeout.

“I could only say the obvious,” Rhine said. “Play defense.”

“You are going to see it in your players’ eyes if they are ready to go or not when entering a timeout,” Rhine added. “I saw their eyes locked on me. That’s what three years of culture has done.”

Rhine’s team responded with strong rebounding and closed the Monarchs’ lead 25-19.

“We knew we had to respond and battle,” senior Rachel Carmody said.

Misericordia’s momentum continued well into the second quarter, as King’s was held scoreless for five minutes.

King’s continued to stumble in the third quarter, finding the net only five times.

Carmody along with junior Paige Wampole battled with King’s Rebecca Prociak for rebound after rebound.

“I enjoy playing against Rebecca,” Carmody said. “She’s an awesome player. It was a fun battle.”

The Cougars duo scored a team-leading 16 points apiece while adding a combined 29 rebounds.

“Our offensive rebounds were crucial,” Rhine said. “When I first got here, we were one the worst rebounding teams in the league. I said if we are going to do one thing right, it’s going to be rebounding.”

The win served another purpose for the Cougars (20-4, 9-4) — sweet revenge after King’s defeated them 80-70 when Rhine’s team was ranked No. 24 in the nation by D3hoops.com. It was Misericordia’s first loss of the season after opening 16-0.

“This was definitely a revenge game for us,” Wampole said.

Her coach wasn’t sure if the players would look at it that way coming into the night.

“I had this game penciled in on my calendar,” Rhine said. “But with where our program is this year, I didn’t think they would look at this as a rematch or a ‘revenge’ game.”

Mackenzie Yori led the Monarchs with 27 points and seven rebounds. Alexis Steeber added 19 points and eight rebounds while Prociak posted a double-double, scoring 13 points and snagging 11 boards.

With the win, the Cougars locked up the second seed and a home game in the MAC Freedom Conference tournament, which begin next Wednesday.

“It’s very important,” Rhine said about his team’s homecourt advantage. “Our players have high GPAs and important majors. Their Wednesday’s are already packed. We didn’t want to have to travel.”

As for the Monarchs (12-12, 6-7), they still remain in the fourth and final playoff spot. Coach Caitlin Hadzimichalis’ team can advance to the league tournament for a second straight year with a home win over Manhattanville in Saturday’s regular season finale.

Misericordia closes out with Eastern, and a Cougars’ win over the Eagles would also put King’s in the tournament.

Delaware Valley 83, Wilkes 71

The Colonels trimmed a 19-point deficit to four in the second half before falling on the road.

Alyssa Alfano led Wilkes with 20 points and a career-high seven assists off the bench. Gab Giordano had 17 points and nine rebounds.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Misericordia 85, King’s 72

In a lost season for the Cougars, it’s all about having fun.

Misericordia coach Willie Chandler’s squad found it at King’s expense by emptying its bench and draining 14 three-pointers in a win over the Monarchs.

“The last two practices have been go out there and have fun,” Chandler said. “When you have so many seniors, they don’t want to do drills.”

Chandler allowed his assistant coaches to run Tuesday’s practice and get his team ready to face the Monarchs.

“I want to see what these guys can do,” he said. “They came in and played hard.”

Chandler spoke highly of sophomore big man Sean Gorman, who snagged seven rebounds and scored four points.

“He came in and made a couple of layups and grabbed some boards,” he said. “I think he can be a nice piece for us in the future.”

Chandler also expects to land 1o freshman recruits for next season.

“I hope a couple of guys from the area come here,” he said. “I also got a couple of big dogs from outside the area coming.”

Jason Kenny, last year’s MAC Freedom Conference Player of the Year, scored a team-high 24 points. Stone McCreary added 23.

Tyler Millan scored 22 points to lead all King’s scorers. Andrew Hudak contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

Wilkes 85, Delaware Valley 70

Rob Pecorelli scored 26 points as all five starters finished in double figures to give the Colonels their fifth straight win.

Tommy Bowen (17), Mark Mullins (14), Connor Evans (11) and Marcus Robinson (10) all chipped in with Mullins and Robinson adding double-doubles with 10 and 11 rebounds, respectively.

Wilkes will have a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed and a home game in next week’s MAC Freedom Conference tournament with a win Saturday over FDU-Florham.

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By Dan Stokes

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Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes