Box Score
Box Score
SCRANTON, Pa. - It was a big day for seniors Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford), Denise Rizzo (Paramus, N.J./Holy Angels) and Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack), as the University of Scranton women's basketball team never trailed in an 82-52 victory over Goucher in their regular season finale on Saturday inside the John Long Center.
With the victory, the 21st-ranked Lady Royals end the 2016-17 regular season with a 22-3 overall record and 11-3 in the Landmark Conference.
With the win and a victory by Catholic at Moravian, the Lady Royals earn the second-seed in the Landmark Conference Playoffs and will host the Greyhounds (the third-seed) on Wednesday night at a time to be determined in Semifnal action.
With the defeat, Goucher ends their 2016-17 season with a 4-20 overall mark and 0-14 in the Landmark Conference.
In the victory, Scranton essentially put Goucher away in the first quarter, as a 19-1 run by the Lady Royals in the period put them up for good at 23-4 late in the period. Up 25-6 after the first 10 minutes of action, Scranton quickly extended the lead out to 28 points in the second quarter (35-7) and kept on scoring to end the half, as they led 47-13 at intermission.
From there, it was academic for the Lady Royals in the second half, as they rolled to a 30-point victory in their final regular season home game of the year inside the Long Center.
Overall, it was an historic day for Payonk, who along with Roman were awarded the Dr. Harold Davis Award before tip-off, honoring the teams most valuable senior.
First, Payonk recorded the fourth triple-double of her career in the dominating victory, finishing with 12 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. With her 16-rebound afternoon, Payonk shattered the all-time total rebound record in program history, and enters the final games of her career with 1,043 total rebounds.
Meanwhile, Roman led all scorers yet again in the win, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. Roman has now scored at least 20 points in four the last six games for Scranton, and has hit the mark 10 different times throughout the season. She has also scored in double-figures in seven straight games and in double figures on 22 of 25 games on the year.
Rizzo rounded out the top performers on the day with nine points, while recording four steals and pulling down four rebounds.
Scranton will now take on Moravian on Wednesday night in the Landmark Semifinals, as the Lady Royals will look to defend their conference championship.
This season, the visiting team was victorious in both games, as the Lady Royals dominated the Greyhounds on their home floor on Jan. 18, 76-55, then Moravian returned the favor in the Long Center on Feb. 1, 87-83.
--LADY ROYALS--
