Wilkes-Barre, Pa. – Wilkes University scored the final seven points against Keystone College to emerge with a 59-54 victory over the Giants in a tight non-conference women's basketball contest on Wednesday night in the Marts Center.  The Colonels improve to 3-6 on the season after snapping a four-game losing skid while the Giants fall to 3-6 on the year.

The first 20 minutes of play was a tale of two quarters on Wednesday night.  Wilkes scored the final 13 points of the opening period to hold a 19-7 advantage after the first 10-minute stanza, but Keystone countered by outscoring the Colonels 20-7 in the second quarter to take a 27-26 lead into halftime.
 
The Giants scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, tying the game at 19-apiece on a Hannah Zuchowski (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) layup at the 6:13 mark.  Wilkes tallied the next five points, but Keystone closed the period with an 8-2 burst, taking the one-point edge into the intermission after Brittany Sugalski (Nanticoke, Pa./Greater Nanticoke Area) scored the go-ahead bucket with 35 seconds showing on the clock.
 
Zuchowski and Daynara Elysee (Spring Valley, N.Y./Ramapo) scored seven points apiece to lead Keystone while Sugalski netted six points in the first half for the visitors, who shot 33.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play while going 5-7 from the free throw line.
 
Alyssa Alfano paced Wilkes with 14 points of the bench in the first half.  The Colonels connected on 34.5 percent of their field goals over the first two periods while going 6-10 from beyond the arc.
 
The two teams traded the lead three times early in the third quarter before Wilkes opened up a 42-33 advantage with 4:43 remaining in the period.  Keystone scored the final eight points of the stanza – six coming from Bryce Garrett (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) – to cut its deficit to 46-45 heading into the four quarter.
 
Nina Hodanich (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) and Brianna Nolen (Union Bridge, Md./Walkersville) scored back-to-back field goals put the Giants ahead by three points early in the final period of regulation but the Colonels stayed within a single possession before tying the game at 52-52 with 3:41 left.  Hodanich put Keystone back in front with a jumper on the Giants' next trip down the floor.
 
Wilkes took a 56-54 lead with 50 seconds showing on the clock when Gianna Roberts connected on a three-pointer The Giants committed a turnover on their next possession and the Colonels went 1-2 from the line following a Keystone foul to hold a 57-54 lead with 16 seconds left.  A bid at a game-tying three-pointer by the Giants would not go and the hosts tacked on a pair of free throws in the final second to close out the final score.
 
Alfano finished with a game-high 22 points for Wilkes while Ashley Caster tallied 13 points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds and four blocked shots.  The Colonels shot 37.9 percent from the field for the game including a 53.3 percent clip from long distance while going 7-14 from the line.
 
Garrett led Keystone with 12 points, Elysee netted 11 points, and Sugalski and Hodanich added eight points apiece.  Sugalski pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Giants, who held a 52-32 advantage on the glass.  Hodanich added game-highs of six steals and five assists while Dyjae Williams (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) totaled eight boards and two blocks in the loss.
 
Keystone will play its final game of the calendar year on Sunday afternoon when it hosts the College of Staten Island in a non-conference tilt starting at 2:00 p.m. in the Gambal Athletic Center.