HOBOKEN, N.J. – Stevens took control of the game with a big third quarter and never looked back as The No. 19 University of Scranton women's basketball team (6-2) dropped a 63-53 decision to the Ducks (8-2) on Saturday afternoon at Canavan Arena in Hoboken.

The Ducks led 27-26 at halftime and outscored the Lady Royals by a 19-11 margin in the third quarter to take a nine point lead for the time being.

This marked the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs, but the first since Dec. 1, 2010.

Stevens was on fire coming out of the gate in this one and scored 11 of the first 13 points before taking an 18-6 lead with 3:16 to play in the first quarter. The Lady Royals scored the final five points of the quarter capped by a three-point play from graduate student Abby Anderson (Scranton, Pa./Holy Cross) and trailed 18-11 after one. Scranton was able to hold Stevens to just nine points in the second quarter and a late jumper from junior Bridget Monaghan (Florham Park, N.J./Morristown-Beard) in the waning seconds of the half cut the lead to one at 27-26 entering the locker room.

Following an Anderson three to open the scoring in the second half, the Ducks took control of the game with a 15-0 run that included a technical foul on Scranton and a three-pointer from Vanessa Elliott made it 42-29 at the 5:44 mark. The Lady Royals quickly sliced the lead to seven at 44-37, but Stevens got a bucket at the buzzer to make it a nine point game at the end of three. A layup from Anderson cut the lead to 52-46 with 3:52 to play and forced a Stevens timeout before four straight points from the hosts coming out of the timeout put the lead in double digits.

Anderson led all scorers with 22 points and also added eight rebounds for Scranton, while Monaghan tallied 12 points and senior Emily Shurina (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) chipped in with nine points and six caroms.

This marked the second straight 20 point game for Anderson who posted 20 points and 17 rebounds in a 56-53 win at No. 25 Catholic last Saturday.

Allie Moss led three Ducks in double figures with 17 points and Jess Broad registered a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lady Royals shot 38.2% (21-of-55) from the floor and 26.7% (4-of-15) from beyond the arc, while Stevens was 23-of-64 (35.9%) from the field and 29.6% (8-of-27) from deep.

Following 10 days off for final exams, the Lady Royals return to the court to host Dickinson in the Hilton Scranton Poinsettia Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

--LADY ROYALS--