(box score)
Widener never trailed over the last 34 minutes of the contest, but still needed overtime to earn a 95-89 win over a gritty King's squad at Schwartz Center.
The first 11:09 of the contest featured five ties and all six of the game's lead changes. King's took its largest lead at 19-13 following Brittany Muscatell's lay-up with just over 11 minutes left in the first half, capping a 9-2 run for the guests.
Widener took control from there by scoring the next eight points, including six off the bench from freshman Alyssa Wiggins (Swedesboro, NJ). The Pride closed the period on a 13-3 spurt, including a 6-0 surge in the final minute to take a 42-31 lead before halftime.
King's cut the lead to 48-46 with 13 minutes left in the second half and did so on four more occasions in less than the next four minutes, but could not get any closer.
Freshman Jennifer Egee (Ridley Park, PA) sank two free throws to give Widener its largest lead, 72-58, with just over five minutes left in regulation. This capped a 14-2 run highlighted by six points off the bench from senior Laura Carson (Downingtown, PA).
Just when it seemed as though Widener had put the game away, King's made another push, reeling off the next eight to shrink its deficit to six with 2:40 to play. Just over a minute later, Celia Rader buried a 3-pointer to make it a 77-75 contest.
Widener senior Jesica Abraguin (Lancaster, CA) sank 1-of-2 from the free throw line for a 78-75 lead with 1:17 left.
After a Widener missed field goal, Lindsay Atchison hauled in a defensive rebound with 11 seconds left, raced up the floor, and passed to Muscatell in the frontcourt, who found Rader open on the right wing for a game-tying 3-pointer with less than a second left.
King's shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in the second stanza, and held Widener to just 2-of-10. The Lady Monarchs also made 19-of-25 from the free throw line, and limited Widener to just 12 attempts, only eight of which were made.
Refusing to fall behind, Widener scored the first five of the overtime, and Abraguin hit a 3-pointer to open up an 86-80 Widener lead with 2:12 left. After Muscatell sank 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, reigning Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week sophomore Lil Carney (Narberth, PA) did the same to give Widener another six-point advantage with just 1:19 to play.
The feisty Lady Monarchs made one last push, making it 90-88 on Paige Carlin's 3-pointer with 30 seconds to go and the two teams exchanged free throws for a 91-89 score with 20 seconds remaining. But after Atchison made her second from the line, Carson inbounded to sophomore Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) on a fast break for a lay-up, and the two connected on a virtual replay following a King's turnover for the 95-89 final.
Widener shot 43 percent (30-of-70) from the field in the contest, and earned a 41-21 edge in bench scoring.
The Pride (5-1) finished with five in double figures including Egee who led the team with 16 points, shooting 4-of-8 from the field and knocking down all six of her free throws. Carney chipped in 15, and added game-highs with nine rebounds and seven assists. Carson shot 55 percent (5-of-9) from the field and made 5-of-6 free throws for 15 points.
Carlin scored a game-high 28 points for the Lady Monarchs (2-3).
Widener on Wednesday travels to Glenside, PA to open its Commonwealth Conference schedule against Arcadia at 6:00 pm.
