DALLAS, Pa. – It took a few minutes for The University of Scranton women's basketball team to get rolling in Saturday's season opener. When the Lady Royals finally found their stride, they didn't look back in a 77-51 victory at Misericordia in the Anderson Center.
Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led four players in double figures with 25 points on 10 of 17 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Sophomore forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) had 12 points off the bench, and senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) and sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) added 11 each.
The Lady Royals trailed by one, 12-11, with 10:57 to play in the first half. That's when they turned their play up a notch, going on a 12-2 run to take a 23-14 lead with a little under eight minutes left in the half. They went on to finish the half on a 24-4 run to take a 49-23 lead into the break. Mesaris had 14 points in the first half and Payonk scored all 11 of her points.
Scranton scored the first 13 points of the second half to put the game away and give head coach Deanna Klingman her first career victory.
Payonk finished with her typical strong all-around game, adding eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals and a block. Fleuhr had five steals, four rebounds and two assists, and Roman pulled down nine rebounds in 16 minutes.
Scranton, which entered the game ranked 14th in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25, finished 27-for-62 (43.5 percent) from the field, including 3-for-15 from 3-point range. The Lady Royals made 20 of 27 free throws (74.1 percent) and held a 45-44 edge on the glass. They also forced 15 turnovers while committing 13.
Misericordia, which got a team-high 13 points from freshman guard Jaclyn Hajec (Utica, N.Y./Notre Dame), finished 18-for-68 (26.5 percent) from the field, including 3-for-13 from 3-point range. The Cougars made 12 of 22 free throws (54.5 percent).
Scranton is back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 18, when the Lady Royals visit Haverford for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
--ROYALS--