Lindsay Fluehr	Meredith Mesaris	Noelle Alicea	Sarah Payonk

Box score

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) has made her mark on The University of Scranton women's basketball program with her hustle, tenacity and selflessness over the past four seasons. Now, she stands alone as the program's all-time career assists leader.

Fluehr dished out seven assists, including the record-breaking pass early in the first half, as the Lady Royals clinched the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference playoffs with a 69-56 road victory over second-place Susquehanna on Wednesday night in Houts Gymnasium.

With 510 career assists, Fluehr passes three-time All-American Kelly Halpin (1996-00), who finished her career with 504 assists. The record-breaking pass came with 13:50 left on the first-half clock when Fluehr found junior guard Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) for a 3-pointer that gave Scranton a 16-6 lead.

While that pass will go in the record books, it was Fluehr's offense that was key on Wednesday night. She finished with 15 points, including a career-high-tying three 3-pointers. She also had seven rebounds and a steal while playing all 40 minutes for the fifth time this season.

Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led 13th-ranked Scranton (21-2, 13-1 Landmark) with 20 points and four steals, marking her sixth straight game with at least 20 points and 14th of the season.

Alicea also finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, her sixth double-double of the season and 11th of her career.

The Lady Royals built an early 10-point lead on that record-breaking play between Fluehr and Alicea, but Susquehanna (16-6, 9-4 Landmark) hung tough, trimming the deficit to four late in the first half before the Lady Royals got another 3-pointer from Alicea just before the end of the half for a 36-29 lead.

The second half was more of the same, with Susquehanna closing to within two before Scranton stretched the lead back to 10 with 13:02 left on a pair of free throws by Payonk, who was 12-for-12 from the line for the game.

The lead was still eight with a little more than six minutes left when Susquehanna senior guard Jonaida Williams (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) scored five points sandwiched around a layup by Lady Royals sophomore forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack), bringing the Crusaders within 58-53 with 4:29 left.

But Payonk made a pair of free throws, then pulled down an offensive rebound and fed Alicea 17 seconds later on the other end for a layup that pushed Scranton's lead back to nine at 62-53 with 3:40 left. Susquehanna got no closer than six the rest of the way, and the Lady Royals finished the game on a 7-0 run over the final 2:09.

Scranton was 22-for-55 (40 percent) from the field, including 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range. Mesaris led the way from beyond the arc, going 4-for-6, while Fluehr was 3-for-6 and Alicea was 2-for-5. The Lady Royals also made 15 of 19 free throws while holding a 42-28 edge on the glass.

Susquehanna was led by sophomore guard Nikki Komara (Shamokin, Pa./Lourdes Regional), who had 16 points and eight rebounds, but committed eight of her team's 14 turnovers. Williams and freshman guard Angie Schedler (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) added 11 points apiece.

The Crusaders were 21-for-56 (37.5 percent) from the field, including 6-for-20 from 3-point range. They were also eight of 11 from the free throw line.

Scranton has two regular season games remaining – at Goucher on Saturday at 5 p.m., and home against Catholic on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. The Lady Royals will host a Landmark Conference semifinal the following week at a date and time to be determined against an opponent also to be determined.

--ROYALS--