Meredith Mesaris	Erin Boggan
Lindsay Fluehr	Alison Sweeney

Box score

Photo Gallery (courtesy of Dan Ceccacci)

SCRANTON, Pa. – Through the first three games of the season, sophomore forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) established herself as a key offensive component to The University of Scranton women's basketball team. On Monday evening at Marywood, Mesaris took her offensive prowess to new heights.

Mesaris scored a career-high 33 points, including 23 in the second half, as the Lady Royals pulled away late for a 73-60 victory over Marywood at Insalaco Arena. The victory improves Scranton to 4-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

Senior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) added 11 points for her fourth straight game scoring in double figures, and sophomore guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) added eight assists and six rebounds.

Scranton led at halftime, 32-29, despite being outrebounded, 26-15, in the opening 20 minutes. It was a stark contrast to their last game out when the Lady Royals posted a 51-28 rebounding edge in a 64-59 win over King's on Tuesday, Nov. 20.

But the Lady Royals found the answer at halftime, holding Marywood (1-3) to just 10 rebounds in the second half while getting the Pacers in foul trouble. Scranton took advantage of 16 Pacers fouls in the final 20 minutes by connecting on 21 of 24 free throws, including 14-for-16 by Mesaris.

The 6-foot-1 forward finished 9-for-17 from the field and added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Her 33 points are tied for 11th-most in Scranton history and are the most since junior guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./Saint Rose) scored 31 in an 82-75 win over Marywood on Nov. 30, 2011, in the Long Center. Mesaris eclipsed her previous career high of 27 in a 91-57 victory at Susquehanna on Jan. 20, 2012. She is averaging 21 points in Scranton's four games this season.

Scranton, which improved to 34-0 all-time against Marywood, also received nine points from sophomore guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), seven rebounds and six blocks from Sweeney and five steals from senior guard Christina Hiltunen (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney).

The Lady Royals overcame 17 turnovers by assisting on 19 of their 21 made field goals. They also had 11 steals and eight blocks while holding Marywood to 34.8 percent (23-for-66) from the field. The Pacers connected on just two of 16 3-point attempts.

Scranton has a quick turnaround for its next game as it hosts Cabrini College on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. in the Long Center.

--LADY ROYALS--