Box Score SCRANTON, Pa. – The No. 3 University of Scranton women's basketball team (22-0, 11-0 Landmark) led wire to wire in a 54-42 victory over the Drew University Rangers (15-7, 5-6 Landmark) on Wednesday night at the John Long Center in Scranton.
Scranton sits on top of the Landmark standings with a two game lead over Elizabethtown and three regular season games remaining. The Lady Royals will hit the road to battle the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon with tip off set for 2 p.m.
Following a Drew turnover on the first possession of the game, senior Hannah Angelini (Baldwin Place, N.Y./Somers) hit a three on the other end and Scranton led for the final 39:28 of the contest. The Lady Royals scored 14 of the first 18 points on the evening and five straight points from senior Bridget Monaghan (Florham Park, N.J./Morristown-Beard) opened up a 14-4 advantage with 5:36 left in the first quarter. The Rangers then cut the lead to four with a 7-1 spurt, but freshman Kaci Kranson (Scranton, Pa./Holy Cross) buried a three at the buzzer for an 18-11 lead after one. Kranson scored the first seven points of the second quarter for the hosts and a three by graduate student Sam Rajza (Plains, Pa./Holy Redeemer) extended the lead into double digits at 28-16 before the Lady Royals eventually took a 30-16 edge into the locker room.
Scranton put forth a dominant defensive effort in the third quarter as they held the Rangers to just two points in the first nine minutes and a three by Rajza followed by a Kranson free throw opened up the largest lead of the game at 42-18 with 1:48 to go in the quarter. The Lady Royals held a 42-22 lead at the end of three and held the lead the double digits the remainder of the way despite a 16-8 run by Drew that trimmed the lead to 50-38 with 2:57 to play. Kranson was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws as Scranton preserved a 22nd straight victory.
Kranson led four Lady Royals in double figures with 16 points, while Rajza added 12 points and six assists, junior Maddy Ryan (Malvern, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) had 11 and Monaghan scored 10.
Meyers paced Drew with a game-high 20 points in the setback and 10 of her 20 came in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Royals shot 30.6% (19-of-62) from the floor and 26.5% (9-of-34) from three-point range. For Drew, the Rangers were 18-of-48 (37.5%) from the field and 4-of-22 (18.2%) from deep.
Scranton held a dominant 47-29 edge on the boards including a season-high 25 offensive rebounds. Angelini and Ryan had 10 boards apiece as the former grabbed a career-high seven offensive boards.
The double-double for Ryan was her fourth of the season.
Kranson also corralled nine boards for the Lady Royals and Angelini chipped in five assists.
If you can't make the trip to Elizabethtown for Saturday's Landmark showdown, click the following links for video and live stats.
--LADY ROYALS--
