HAVERFORD, Pa. – The University of Scranton women's basketball team shot the lights out in Goodling Arena in the first half on Tuesday night against Haverford College. That fast start was important as the Lady Royals held off a furious rally by the Fords to post a 70-63 victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led Scranton with 17 points, sophomore forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) had 15 points and fellow sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) added 12 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Scranton raced out to a 46-27 halftime lead by shooting 56.7 percent (17-for-30) in the opening 20 minutes, including 7-for-15 from 3-point range. Mesaris had 12 points in the opening half and senior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and junior guard Jaclyn Gantz (Haverford, Pa./Haverford) each made a pair of 3-pointers in the half.

The Lady Royals built the lead to 20 at 56-36 with 12:46 to play and still led by 19 at 60-41 with 8:29 to play. That's when Haverford (0-3) began to claw back, using a 20-5 run to pull within 65-61 with 47 seconds remaining. But Scranton iced the game at the free throw line as Mesaris and junior guard Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) both made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds.

Scranton finished the night shooting 25-for-51 (49.0 percent) from the field and 8-for-20 (40 percent) from 3-point range. The Lady Royals also made 12 of 19 free throws (63.2 percent) and committed just 14 turnovers.

Senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) was a big reason for the high shooting percentage, dishing out eight assists to go along with seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Alicea finished with a solid floor game, contributing four points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Haverford, which won the rebounding battle, 37-33, received a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds from junior forward Elizabeth Lynch (Floral Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and 16 points and six assists from junior guard Jacquelyne Pizzuto (Belle Mead, N.J./Rutgers Prep). The Fords shot 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the field, including 9-for-33 (27.3 percent) from 3-point range. They had just six free throw attempts, making four, and they committed 17 turnovers.

The Lady Royals return to action on Friday when they take on Wilkes in the Scotty Wood Memorial Tournament at Muhlenberg at 1 p.m. in Allentown, Pa.

--ROYALS--