HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The No. 5 University of Scranton women's basketball team (7-0, 2-0 Landmark) pulled away in the second half and rolled to a 72-33 victory over the Juniata College Eagles (1-7, 0-2 Landmark) on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium in Huntingdon.
Scranton held a 34-19 halftime lead before outscoring the Eagles by a 38-14 margin over the final two quarters to remain unbeaten.
After Juniata turned the ball over on the game's first possession, sophomore Kaci Kranson (Scranton, Pa./Holy Cross) opened the scoring for the Lady Royals with a layup and the visitors opened the game on a 22-2 run. Kranson then sank a jumper in the final minute of the period to make it a 24-4 game after one. In the second quarter, Kranson and fellow sophomore Kaeli Romanowski (Lake Ariel, Pa./Western Wayne) hit consecutive layups to give the Lady Royals a 28-8 advantage for the time being before Juniata put together an 11-6 stretch over the remainder of the quarter. The Eagles' Bri Bodtorf hit a pair of jumpers over the final 1:05 and Scranton held a 34-19 edge at the break.
Senior Allie Lynch (Villanova, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame de Namur) connected with a jumper on the Lady Royals' first possession of the third quarter and ignited a 21-0 run capped off by a pair of free throws from senior Maddy Ryan (Malvern, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) that extended the lead to 57-19 at the 4:36 mark. Sophomore Jenna Sloan (Central Square, N.Y./Bishop Grimes) later sank a pair of free throws in the final minute of the quarter to make it a 61-25 game headed to the fourth. In the fourth quarter, graduate student Kyra Quigley's (Drexel Hill, Pa./Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr) layup sparked a 10-2 spurt and the Lady Royals cruised to the dominant victory.
Kranson led Scranton with 23 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, while freshman Meghan Lamanna (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) added 12 points and seven rebounds and Lynch sank all three field goal attempts en route to eight points.
Romanowski also added seven points, four assists and three steals in the victory to go along with five points, four steals and two blocks from Sloan.
Bodtorf paced Juniata with nine points.
The 33 points allowed are a season-best for Scranton and the fewest the team has allowed since a 58-31 victory over Moravian on Feb. 22, 2023.
Scranton shot 37.7% (26-of-69) from the floor, 25.0% (4-of-16) from beyond the arc and 88.9% (16-of-18) from the free throw line. Head coach Ben O'Brien's team also held the Eagles to 22.4% (13-of-58) from the field and 17.6% (3-of-17) from deep.
The Lady Royals held a dominant 59-24 edge on the glass led by Kranson's 11 and Lamanna's seven.
Landmark Conference play continues on Wednesday at Drew with action slated to get underway at 7 p.m.
--LADY ROYALS--
