The University of Scranton women's basketball team put on a dominant performance with an 85-62 victory against Catholic University to secure the program's 10th straight Landmark Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at the John Long Center.
The Basics
- Final Score: No. 4 Scranton - 85, No. 15 Catholic - 62
- Records: No. 4 Scranton (26-1), No. 15 Catholic (24-4)
- Scranton wins its 10th straight Landmark Conference title and 13th all time.
- Under the guidance of head coach Ben O'Brien the Lady Royals have now won three consecutive conference championships.
- With the win, the Lady Royals earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will take place on Monday, March 3 at 2:30 PM.
How it Happened
- Scranton got off to a strong start with a 10-3 run that featured three-pointers from graduate student Maddie Hartnett and sophomore Meghan Lamanna.
- Catholic got within six at the 2:13 mark but sophomore Elizabeth Bennett scored back-to-back lay ups to give her squad a 20-10 lead at the end of the first period.
- Scranton applied the defensive pressure early, recording four steals and two blocks in the opening quarter.
- The Lady Royals went on an 8-3 run to open up the second period and take a 28-13 lead at the 7:24 mark.
- Hartnett, Lamanna and junior Kaci Kranson all hit threes in the middle stages of the second quarter in part of an 11-0 run to put Scranton up 39-15 with 3:46 remaining in the first half.
- Lamanna and Kranson each hit big threes in the final minute of the first half to put the Lady Royals up 30 at the break.
- Graduate student Kyra Quigley scored the first two baskets of the second half for Scranton.
- Lamanna continued her strong shooting performance in the third period, adding a pair of threes and a mid-range jumper to match Quigley with a team-high eight points in the third.
- Scranton led by 32 headed into the fourth quarter thanks to a last second lay up from junior Kaeli Romanowski to close out the third.
- Catholic out scored Scranton 23-14 in the fourth but the Lady Royals' big lead proved too much to come back from with a final score of 85-62 in favor of Scranton.
Top Performers
- Romanowski was named MVP after she stuffed the stat sheet with six points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds. Her 15 assists marks the third most in a single game by a Lady Royal in program history.
- Lamanna scored a game-high 21 points on 5-8 from three-point range.
- Kranson posted 17 points and nine rebounds.
- Quigley scored a career-high 16 points to go along with six boards.
- Hartnett added 12 points.
Inside the Box Score
- Scranton shot 47.9% from the field and 37% from three-point range.
- The Lady Royals out scored Catholic 27-7 in the second period.
- Scranton scored 44 points in the paint.
Up Next
- Click here to watch the NCAA selection show on Monday, March 3 at 2:30 PM.
