WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior Olivia Manges (York, Pa./West York) led the Lycoming College women's basketball team with 22 points and led a huge, late second half comeback against King's College, but the Warriors fell just short in the final seconds, 69-65, on Monday night, Jan. 18, at Lamade Gym.
 
The loss drops the Warriors record to 10-7 on the season while the Monarchs are 10-5 after the win.
 
With the Monarch's holding a 56-52 lead in the fourth quarter, the teams continued to go back and forth, however the Monarch's began to gradually pull away. After a 7-2 Monarch run put the Warriors down 63-54, Manges started a run for the Warriors which included two huge three's. Henderson then hit a jumper from the baseline to give the Warriors their first lead since 20-18 in the second quarter to cap off an 11-0 run.
 
With the game tied at 65, after two Monarch free throws, freshman Becca Painter (Elverson, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) chased down a rebound but was questionably called for stepping out of bounds. Monarch senior Sara Krupinski hit a jumper on the ensuing possession to take the 67-65 lead followed by a pair of free throws from freshman Alexis Steeber to finish the scoring in the game.
 
Manges finished with her second consecutive 20-point performance and made 6-of-9 3-pointers (.667), her fifth straight game with multiple makes from deep. Sophomore Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two assists while senior Chelsea Henderson (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) finished with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting (.750), three rebounds, and tied her career-high in assists with five.
 
The Warriors came out looking strong defensively as they held King's to 10 points on 4-for-14 shooting in the opening frame. In the second, Manges got the Warriors rolling as she hit a three on the first Warrior possession, followed by a tough layup from Mueller down low. Manges hit her next three on the third possession of the quarter to fuel an 8-2 run to take a 20-12 lead. The Monarchs responded by scoring 14 straight points but the Warriors ended the half strong as Manges hit another 3-pointer in the final seconds to cap off a 6-2 run and go into halftime trailing 28-26.
 
The Warriors were able to stay close in the first half due to their seven offensive rebounds and 10 forced turnovers.
 
The Monarchs began the third with an 8-2 run but the Warriors quickly came back and the two teams began to go back and forth. With 8:58 remaining, junior Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) came away with a steal making her the 14^th player in school history with three straight seasons of at least 30 steals. Henderson began the fourth quarter by hitting a free throw which made her the 29^th player in school history with a least 600 points in a career.
 
As a team, the Warriors shot 26-for-65 (.400) and held the advantage in assists (20-16), steals (5-3), and points off turnovers (24-11). The Warriors were able to force 17 turnovers in the game while only turning it over 11 times.
 
The Monarchs were led by senior Jennifer Fabian who finished with a team-high 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting and pulled in eight rebounds. Krupinski added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting (.571) and six rebounds and sophomore Olivia Hoffman added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Warriors will return to conference action on Saturday, Jan. 23, when they travel to Stevenson for a 3 p.m. MAC Commonwealth battle. ?