SCRANTON, Pa. Anybody who has watched NCAA basketball over the years can attest to the fact that any team can win on their day, but the good ones find ways to win on their worst. That is exactly what The University of Scranton did Saturday at the Long Center, defeating Catholic University to claim a hard-fought 67-53 victory.
The turning point happened with 12:43 remaining in the second half. After trailing 44-43, the Lady Royals responded with a 13-4 run thanks in part to the 3-point shooting of senior guard Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside), who scored nine points during the game-changing spurt. She would finish with 17 points.
The numbers from the first half told a different story than the score line indicated, with Catholic out-shooting the Lady Royals by nine percent and out-rebounding them by eight, while leading by only one at the intermission, 31-30.
Senior guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) and first-year guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./Saint Rose) kept the Lady Royals in the game, scoring nine points apiece. They would finish with 19 and 12 points, respectively, while Kopecki also tallied five rebounds and five steals.
Catholic dominated inside all afternoon, with sophomores Katarina Owunna (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Alvernia) and Jill Woerner (Providence, R.I./St. Mary's Bayview) finishing with 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Cardinals finished with two more total field goals than Scranton, but the Cardinals committed 24 turnovers that the Lady Royals converted into 27 points.
But, as it often does, 3-point shooting played the role of great equalizer, with Scranton knocking down 11 compared to none for Catholic. Free-throw shooting also had an impact, with the Lady Royals getting to the line more often and converting 14 of 16 (87.5 percent).
The Lady Royals, now 16-5 overall and 10-1 in the Landmark Conference, will travel to Selinsgrove, Pa. to take on Susquehanna University this Friday, February 11 to kick-off the front end of a Landmark Conference doubleheader. On Saturday, February 12, Scranton will look to avenge its only league loss of the season, an 81-68 decision to Juniata College when the two teams meet in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at 2:00 p.m.
News & Notes: Scranton holds a one-game lead over Juniata and Moravian with three conference games remaining…the Lady Royals' game against Messiah College that was postponed on Wednesday, January 26, due to inclement weather has yet to be rescheduled…Kopecki is nine points shy of 1600 for her career…Royals converted 24 Cardinal turnovers into 27 points…Catholic held a 41-23 rebounding advantage.
Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 67, CATHOLIC 53
CATHOLIC (14-8/6-5 Landmark)
Katarina Owunna 6-8 1-2 13; Jill Woerner 5-12 2-4 12; Liz Briones 3-4 4-4 10; Emily Grabiak 4-9 0-0 8; Mary McGann 2-5 0-0 4; Kerri Confrey 1-4 0-0 2; Jenny McGann 1-9 0-0 2; Claire McEvily 1-2 0-0 2; Holly Janicki 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 7-10 53.
SCRANTON (16-5/10-1 Landmark)
Megan Kopecki 5-12 8-8 19; Jennifer King 6-10 1-2 17; Alison Sweeney 3-10 3-4 12; Colleen McLane 3-8 0-0 8; Sidney Jaques 2-4 0-0 5; Tayler Pallotta 2-3 0-0 4; Sarah Gage 0-1 2-2 2; Shernai Bentley 0-1 0-0 0; KC Hawkes 0-0 0-0 0; Katie Cunningham 0-3 0-0 0; Katherine Torto 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 14-16 67.
Catholic...................... 30 23 - 53
The University of Scranton.... 29 38 - 67
3-point goals--Catholic 0-8 (; Emily Grabiak 0-2; Mary McGann 0-2; Kerri Confrey 0-1; Jenny McGann 0-3), The University of Scranton 11-27 (Jennifer King 4-8; Alison Sweeney 3-7; Colleen McLane 2-6; Megan Kopecki 1-3; Sidney Jaques 1-2; Katie Cunningham 0-1). Fouled out--Catholic-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds--Catholic 41 (Emily Grabiak 9; Katarina Owunna 9), The University of Scranton 23 (Megan Kopecki 5). Assists--Catholic 19(Kerri Confrey 8), The University of Scranton 17 (Katie Cunningham 4). Total fouls--Catholic 16, The University of Scranton 11. Technical fouls--Catholic-None, The University of Scranton-None. A-350