Alexix Roman	Meredith Mesaris	Lindsay Fluehr
Jaclyn Gantz	Sarah Payonk	Alison Sweeney

Box score

Photo gallery (courtesy of Emma Black)

Photo gallery (courtesy of Dan Ceccacci)

The University of Scranton women's basketball team used a big first half to roll past Susquehanna University, 69-40, to clinch a Landmark Conference playoff berth on Saturday afternoon in the Long Center.

The Lady Royals (17-3, 9-1 Landmark) remain in a first-place tie with Catholic (16-4, 9-1 Landmark), which defeated Drew, 86-53, on Saturday to also clinch a playoff berth. Moravian (17-4, 8-2) fell out of the three-way tie after losing to Juniata, 56-53.

Freshman forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) led the Lady Royals with 14 point and eight rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. Junior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) added 11 points as 11 different players found their way into the scoring column.

Scranton raced out to a 41-18 halftime lead by going 17-for-28 (60.7 percent) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, the team's best shooting half of the season. Roman finished with 13 of her 14 points, and junior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy), sophomore guard Jaclyn Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and freshman forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) had six points each.

Payonk finished the game with eight points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Gantz finished with six points, three steals and two rebounds, and Fluehr had six points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) also had a solid game with six points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

The Lady Royals finished the game 26-for-57 (45.6 percent) from the field, including 3-for-16 from 3-point range. They also made 14 of 19 free throws while winning the rebounding battle, 39-33. They also outscored the Crusaders in the paint, 40-8, and had a 28-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

No player scored in double figures for Susquehanna, which finished the game shooting just 26.1 percent (12-for-46), including 6-for-21 from 3-point range. The Crusaders committed 28 turnovers and had zero fast-break points.

Scranton returns to action on Monday, Feb. 10, when it hosts cross-town rival Marywood in a non-conference game at 7 p.m. in the Long Center.

--LADY ROYALS--