CENTER VALLEY, Pa.—The University of Scranton was once again victimized by turnovers in the 3rd-place game of the Starters Pub Tip-off Tournament against DeSales University Sunday afternoon at Billera Hall.
Less than 24 hours after a shaky performance in a 71-62 loss to William Paterson Saturday evening, the Lady Royals committed a season-high 27 turnovers and shot less than 35 percent from the field in dropping a 77-63 decision to their former Freedom Conference rival. The loss was the second straight for Scranton, now 1-2 and off to its worst start since the 1990-91 season.
Senior guards Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) and Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside), sophomore forward Tayler Pallotta (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore), and first-year guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./Saint Rose) led Scranton with 10 points apiece.
DeSales, which improved to 3-1, was led by senior guard Lori Lidlow (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) with 18 points, sophomore forward Colleen Gavin (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) added 17 points and nine rebounds, and freshman guard Sondrine Glovas (Easton, Pa./Wilson), and junior forward Cherelle Simmons (Lancaster, Pa./JP McCaskey) chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The Lady Royals' problems began early, turning the ball over 16 times in the first half alone. Down 14 points with 6:59 remaining before halftime, Scranton used a three-quarter court press to rattle the Lady Bulldogs into committing three straight turnovers to whittle the lead down to five, 30-25, with 4:04 left. Scranton, however, scored just two points the rest of the way as DeSales regained the momentum and built its lead back up to nine, 38-29, by intermission.
Scranton trailed by only seven with 12:31 remaining before the Lady Bulldogs answered with a 15-4 run over a five-minute span to extend DeSales' lead to 20, 69-49, with 7:15 left. The closest the Lady Royals got the rest of the way was 12 points.
The Lady Bulldogs offset a poor shooting effort from the field (35.8 percent) by converting 36 of 42 free throw attempts (85.7 percent), including a perfect 20-for-20 in the second half, to post its second straight victory over the Lady Royals. The two teams met in the championship game of this tournament on November 16, 2008, with DeSales pulling out a 65-57 victory.
Scranton will return to action when it takes on another former Freedom Conference rival, King's College, this Tuesday, November 23, at 7:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
News & Notes: Scranton still holds a 27-7 lead in the all-time series with DeSales…Pallotta led the Lady Royals with eight rebounds…the Lady Royals connected on 16 of 18 free throw attempts (88.9 percent)…the University of Scranton ended its long-time affiliation with the Freedom Conference of the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation in 2007.
Newspaper Box Score
DeSALES 77, SCRANTON 63
SCRANTON (1-2)
Alison Sweeney 2-9 4-4 10; Megan Kopecki 4-13 2-3 10; Tayler Pallotta 2-6 6-6 10; Jennifer King 4-7 0-0 10; Sarah Gage 3-4 0-0 6; Colleen McLane 1-6 4-4 6; Katherine Torto 1-4 0-0 3; KC Hawkes 1-3 0-0 2; Courtney Roselle 1-3 0-0 2; Shernai Bentley 1-2 0-1 2; Christina Hiltunen 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 21-61 16-18 63.
DeSALES (3-1)
Lori Lidlow 3-13 10-10 18; Colleen Gavin 4-10 9-10 17; Sondrine Glovas 3-8 7-10 14; Cherelle Simmons 3-8 5-6 11; Hannah Smith 4-8 0-0 8; Megan Montchyk 0-3 5-6 5; Shaina Dymond 2-3 0-0 4; Megan Gallagher 0-0 0-0 0; Taylor Greene 0-0 0-0 0; Faith Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 36-42 77.
The University of Scranton.... 29 34 - 63
DeSales University............ 38 39 - 77
3-point goals--The University of Scranton 5-17 (Jennifer King 2-4; Alison Sweeney 2-6; Katherine Torto 1-1; Colleen McLane 0-3; Christina Hiltunen 0-1; Megan Kopecki 0-2), DeSales University 3-9 (Lori Lidlow 2-6; Sondrine Glovas 1-1; Hannah Smith 0-1; Megan Montchyk 0-1). Fouled out—The University of Scranton-None, DeSales University-None. Rebounds—The University of Scranton 39 (Tayler Pallotta 8), DeSales University 37 (Cherelle Simmons 9; Colleen Gavin 9). Assists--The University of Scranton 16 (Megan Kopecki 4), DeSales University 14 (Hannah Smith 4). Total fouls--The University of Scranton 26, DeSales University 19. Technical fouls--The University of Scranton-None, DeSales University-None. A-225