King’s Cruises To Tourney Title

Kaitlyn Fiorino picked up MVP honors after scoring 22 points to lead the Lady Monarchs.

Andrea Hochstuhl (middle) and King’s finished off a dominant two days at both ends of the court to capture the Lady Monarch Classic championship by beating Salisbury on Saturday.

Times leader staff photo/Don Carey

WILKES-BARRE — Brian Donoghue laughed as he recounted this game from a year ago.
Then in his first year as King’s women’s basketball coach, Donoghue tried to slow things down and hold the ball against highly ranked Messiah in the title game of the Lady Monarchs Classic. His team scored 36 points that day.
To the delight of the Lady Monarchs, they got to be the aggressors this time.
There was no shortage of grins on Saturday after King’s easily handled Salisbury 78-56 to win the two-day tournament championship at Scandlon Gymnasium.
After a 27-day layoff before Friday’s game, the Lady Monarchs (7-5) completed a dominant stretch in which they outscored their opponents 167-98 by playing up-tempo basketball.
“This is what we envisioned,” Donoghue said of his team’s impressive play, which featured a productive offense in transition and an aggressive showing on defense. Looking to match the Monarchs’ fast pace, Salisbury attempted 75 field goals but scored on just 22 of them, thanks in part to a King’s defense that forced bad shots.
On offense, it was another memorable game for sophomore Kaitlyn Fiorino, who captured tournament MVP honors with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three.
For the tournament, she scored 43 points and shot 63 percent total from the floor (15-of-24) as well as from behind the arc (10-of-16).
“We all really came ready to go and ready to bounce back,” Fiorino said. “I knew we were going to have a good tournament, so I’m proud of everyone. We really played hard.”
Right behind Fiorino on the scoresheet was junior shooting guard Jenna Palumbo, who put up 21 points and hit four treys of her own. Andrea Hochstuhl chipped in 14 points.
King’s 43-19 edge at the half may have been more impressive than its 44-15 advantage vs. Arcadia on Friday night, given that the Sea Gulls (8-3) were six games better than Arcadia heading into Saturday.
That disparity wasn’t terribly apparent against the Lady Monarchs, however, as the King’s defense stifled Salisbury, which shot a miserable 22 percent from the floor in the first half.
The Gulls managed to chip away just a bit at King’s imposing lead. Play picked up to a much more rapid pace, as both teams ran the court and traded baskets, with Salisbury finally finding its shooting touch.
Tourney notes
Aside from Fiorino’s MVP award, Palumbo and Hochstuhl were named to the all-tournament team, while senior Casey Heitman won the John J. Dorish Sportsmanship Award. ... Arcadia won the consolation game with a 74-53 victory over Keystone.
Family reunion
Former Penn State quarterback Zack Mills made an appearance at Scandlon on Saturday, sitting in the front row on the visitors’ side to cheer on younger sisters Jessica and Catherine, both of whom play for Salisbury.