Box Score
Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The senior forward tandem of Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) and Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) were dominant all evening, as Roman led all scorers with 25 points and Payonk recorded a triple-double, leading the University of Scranton women's basketball team to a convincing 76-55 win at Moravian on Wednesday night in Landmark Conference action.
With the win, the third-ranked Lady Royals remained perfect on the year at 16-0 overall, 5-0 in the Landmark Conference. Scranton also extended their regular season winning streak that dates back to 2015 to 50 games with the victory. 29 of those coming in Landmark Conference play.
Moravian fell to 11-5 and 3-2 in the Landmark with the defeat.
The opening frame of the contest saw Scranton jump out of the gates on a roll, as they opened a 6-0 lead on the the host Greyhounds in the first minute of play. With 6:44 left, the Lady Royals had already extended their lead out to 10 points (14-4) and held that same lead by the end of the period at 27-17.
It was more of the same from Scranton in the second period, as they ballooned the lead out to 16 points (36-20) halfway through the quarter after opening the period on a 9-3 run.
After Moravian cut the lead down to 11 (38-27) with two minutes left, Scranton ended the half strong, as junior Katie Broderick (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) and sophomore Bridgette Mann (Canadensis, Pa./Wallenpaupack) both nailed three-pointers, giving Scranton a commanding 44-27 lead at intermission.
That 17-point deficit proved to be too much for the host Greyhounds to come back from, as Scranton eventually opened up an insurmountable 25-point lead (61-36) late in the third quarter.
Up by 21 entering the fourth (61-40), the Lady Royals coasted down the stretch, winning their second straight game on the road without trailing.
In the win, Roman led the way all evening with her 25 point, 14 rebound outing, recording a double-double for the fourth time in the last five games. Roman's 14 rebound outing also matched a career-high for her in the department, and was a season-best, as well.
Payonk, meanwhile, became the first player in program history to record three double-doubles in her career, ending the night with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists (matching a career-high).
Payonk posted two triple-doubles last season (vs. Catholic on Jan. 16, 2016 and Susquehanna on Feb. 10, 2016) and now has half of the total triple-doubles recorded in program history (three of six).
The other double-digit scorer on the night for Scranton was Mann, who finished with 16 points. Broderick also added nine points in the victory, as well.
The University of Scranton women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, hosting Catholic at home in another Landmark Conference match-up. Tip-off inside the John Long Center is slated for 2 p.m.
--LADY ROYALS--
