Meredith Mesaris	Alexix Roman	Sarah Payonk
Lia DiSciascio	Lindsay Fluehr	Jaclyn Gantz

Box score

Photo gallery (courtesy of Emma Black)

Photo gallery (courtesy of Dan Ceccacci)

The University of Scranton women's basketball team took control right from the start and cruised to a 72-43 victory over Drew University on Wednesday evening in the Long Center.

Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) scored a game-high 23 points, including 19 in the first half, as the 14th-ranked Lady Royals (17-2, 9-1 Landmark) remained in first place. Sophomore forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) had 13 points and eight rebounds, fellow sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) had 10 points and nine rebounds, and senior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) finished with 10 points.

Scranton was never threatened, opening the game with a 24-6 run over the first 8:49. Mesaris had 11 points in the run and Payonk added six. The spurt led to an eventual 42-18 lead at halftime as Scranton shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the field while holding Drew to just 21.7 percent (5-for-23).

The Lady Royals continued their strong defensive effort in the second half, building the lead as big as 31 on three occasions. Scranton finished the game with a 44-25 rebounding advantage, including seven each for Mesaris and senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy), who also had six assists. Fluehr now has 484 career assists, second-most in school history and just 20 shy of the school record set by Kelly Halpin (1996-00).

Junior guard Jaclyn Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) added eight points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers. It's the fifth time this season she has hit two or more 3-pointers in a game and the 13th time in her career.

Scranton finished the game shooting 45.9 percent (28-for-61) and committed just 10 turnovers. The Lady Royals outscored the Rangers, 32-10, in the paint, including 16-0 in the first half, and had a 24-12 edge in bench points.

Drew (10-9, 4-6 Landmark) received 10 points each from senior guard Breana Wilson (Irvington, N.J./Berkshire School) and sophomore guard Hannah Miller (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven). The Rangers finished the game shooting 29.4 percent (15-for-51) and committed 13 turnovers.

Scranton will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 31, when the Lady Royals celebrate Senior Day prior to their 2 p.m. tip-off against Elizabethtown in the John Long Center.

--LADY ROYALS--