Alexix Roman	Bridgette    Mann	Mackenzie Yori	Sarah Payonk

Box Score

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Senior forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) picked up where she left off last season, scoring a game-high 16 points, as the third-ranked University of Scranton women's basketball team kicked off their season with a bang on Friday afternoon, downing Mount Union, 70-36, as part of the 2016 Chuck Reiser Invitational on the campus of the University of Rochester.

For Scranton in the win, the Lady Royals distanced themselves from Mount Union in the first quarter, as Scranton went on a 17-2 run to end the opening stanza to open up an insurmountable 25-6 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.

Scranton went on to extend the lead out to 26 points at halftime (39-13), then went up by 30 at the end of the third quarter (53-23) to leave no doubt.

With the convincing 34-point victory, the Lady Royals extended their regular season game winning streak to 34 games, with their last loss in regular season action coming during the 2014-15 season (Jan. 17, 2015 at Catholic).

Overall, Roman posted her 16-point evening on a 5-of-8 shooting performance from the floor, as the senior also nailed all six free throws she took from the charity stripe, as well. Roman also snatched eight rebounds off the glass in the victory.

Elsewhere, sophomore guard Bridgette Mann (Canadensis, Pa./Wallenpaupack) was the only other double-digit scorer in the contest, ending with 15 points after nailing three three pointers and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, freshman guard Mackenzie Yori (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) had a solid game in her collegiate debut, ending with nine points.

Senior forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) ended the game with five points, putting her at 995 points for her career entering Saturday's game. She also pulled down 10 rebounds, dished out four assists, had four steals and blocked three shots in the victory, as well.

On defense, the Lady Royals were dominant in the victory, forcing Mount Union to make just 13 shots from the floor in 40 minutes (Mount Union shot just 23.2 percent in the contest).

The University of Scranton women's basketball team will now play in the championship game of the Chuck Resler Invitational tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. The Lady Royals will play either SUNY-New Paltz or host Rochester in the title game Saturday night.

--ROYALS--