HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Junior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) scored the 1,000th point of her career and seven players scored eight or more points as The University of Scranton women's basketball team rolled to a 76-52 victory at Juniata on Saturday at the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center.
Mesaris scored 13 points, including the 1,000th of her career when she buried a jump shot with 14:28 left in the first half to give Scranton a 10-4 lead. She is the 26th player in Lady Royals history to reach 1,000 points, and now has 1,007 career points, which ranks 25th all-time at Scranton.
Freshman forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) led Scranton (16-3, 8-1 Landmark) with 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
The victory keeps the Lady Royals in first place in the Landmark Conference, at least a half-game ahead of Moravian and Catholic, both of whom play later Saturday evening.
Scranton took control early by jumping out to a 15-6 lead and extending the advantage to 36-17 at halftime after freshman forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) made a steal and dribbled the length of the court for a layup at the buzzer. The Lady Royals shot 50 percent (16-for-32) in the first half while holding Juniata to 32 percent (8-for-25).
The Eagles (9-10, 2-6 Landmark) scored the first 11 points of the second half to cut the Scranton lead to eight at 36-28, but Scranton immediately responded with a 22-4 run to put the game away at 58-32 with a little more than 10 minutes to play.
Senior guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) added nine points, and the Lady Royals also received eight points each from sophomore guards Jaclyn Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East), junior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and Payonk.
Scranton finished the game shooting 48.4 percent (30-for-62) from the field, including 4-for-13 from 3-point range. The Lady Royals also made 12 of 17 free throws and committed just 13 turnovers. They also won the rebounding battle, 38-36, as Payonk pulled down seven rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists. Alicea also added three steals in the win.
Juniata was led by freshman guard Olivia Halfpenny (McVeytown, Pa./Mifflin County), who scored 12 points and had eight rebounds. The Eagles entered the week ranked 10th in the country in field goal percentage at 44.1 percent, but shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58) from the field, including 4-for-19 from 3-point range. They made four of nine free throw attempts while committing 19 turnovers.
In two games against Juniata this season, Scranton has held the Eagles to 35.1 percent (40-for-114) from the field.
Scranton will play its final non-conference game of the regular season when it hosts crosstown rival Marywood on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--