KING'S WOMEN WIN SEVENTH STRAIGHT WITH 78-61 WIN AT FDU, PALUMBO BREAKS THREE-POINT RECORD
Junior guard Jenna Palumbo broke the single-season three-point record and the King's College women's basketball team posted its seventh consecutive victory as the Lady Monarchs defeated host FDU-Florham 78-61 in an important Freedom Conference matchup Saturday in Madison, NJ.
With the win, King's improved to 12-5 on the year while moving to 4-2 in Freedom Conference play. FDU slipped to 6-9 and 2-4 in league action.
The first half was closely played as King's held a 18-16 lead with 7:57 remaining in the opening stanza. The Lady Monarchs, however would use a 11-4 run thanks to seven points from Jenna Palumbo and four more from Andrea Hochstuhl to build a 29-20 lead with 4:32 on the clock. The Devils would respond with a 12-1 surge to close to within 32-30 after a steal and lay-up by Katie Daly with 1:06 left. But Jessica Paettie would bury a three-pointer at 0:04 to give King's a 35-30 halftime lead.
In the second stanza, King's would build a 42-34 lead on a three-pointer from Hochstuhl but the Devils cut the margin to 42-38 on a bucket but Danielle Michlovsky at 15:12. King's answered with a short jumper from Hochstuhl and two foul shots by Palumbo to take a 46-38 lead with 14:22 left in the contest.
The Lady Monarchs would maintain a comfortable advantage until the Devils cut the lead to 60-55 on a lay-up by Emily Cerankowski with 5:14 remaining. But Casey Heitman enabled King's to close the door with eight points during a 12-0 Lady Monarch run to push the score to 72-55 with 2:11 left.
Junior guard Kaitlyn Fiorino led King's with 20 points on 7-of-13 from the field while dishing out five assists. Hochstuhl, a 6-foot junior center, posted her second dominant performance of the week with 17 points and 16 rebounds, following a 20-point, 17-rebound effort against Lycoming on Wednesday.
Palumbo, meanwhile, tallied 15 points while breaking King's single-season record of 58 three-pointers set by Jennie Orelli in 2004. Palumbo drained three long-range shots to total 60 on the season. She entered the game ranked second nationally in Division III with 3.7 three-pointers per-game
Lauren Kendra was also outstanding for King's as the 5-7 junior point guard pulled down 11 rebounds while distributing a career-high nine assists for the third time this season. The Lady Monarchs also out-rebounded FDU 53-41 in the contest.
Cerankowski led the Devils with 16 points while Daly added nine points and 10 boards.
KINGS 78, FDU-FLORHAM 61 KINGS (12-5, 4-2) Kaitlyn Fiorino 7-13 4-6 20; Andrea Hochstuhl 6-14 4-4 17; Jenna Palumbo 5-13 2-2 15; Casey Heitman 3-7 0-0 8; Sarah Darling 1-3 3-4 5; Andrea Carroll 1-1 2-4 4; Jessica Paettie 1-4 0-0 3; Lauren Kendra 0-5 2-5 2; Brittany Atzert 1-3 0-0 2; Kaitlyn Malshefski 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-65 17-25 78. FDU-FLORHAM (6-9, 2-4) Emily Cerankowski 6-19 2-3 16; Kate Daly 2-4 4-6 9; Maureen Kehoe 1-8 5-7 7; Shannon Smith 3-8 1-2 7; Jessie Chalmers 2-7 3-4 7; Danielle Michlovsky 2-9 1-2 5; Kim Molaskey 1-8 3-4 5; Lara Hirshenson 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 19-65 19-28 61. KINGS............................ 35 43 - 78 FDU-Florham................... 30 31 - 61 3-point goals-KINGSW 9-23 (Jenna Palumbo 3-9; Casey Heitman 2-3; Kaitlyn Fiorino 2-6; Andrea Hochstuhl 1-1; Jessica Paettie 1-3; Lauren Kendra 0-1), FDU-Florham 4-11 (Emily Cerankowski 2-6; Kate Daly 1-3; Lara Hirshenson 1-1; Jessie Chalmers 0-1). Fouled out--KINGSW-None, FDU-Florham-Shannon Smith. Rebounds-KINGSW 53 (Andrea Hochstuhl 16), FDU-Florham 41 (Kate Daly 10). Assists-KINGSW 20 (Lauren Kendra 9), FDU-Florham 12 (Kate Daly 5). Total fouls-KINGSW 17, FDU-Florham 17. A-173