ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The University of Scranton women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort and double-figure scoring from seniors Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) and Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) to defeat Wilkes, 60-43, in the opening round of the Scott Wood Tournament at Muhlenberg on Friday afternoon.
The Lady Royals (3-0) held Wilkes to just 37 percent (20-for-54) from the field and forced 19 turnovers in the victory. Mesaris finished with a game-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and a block, and DiSciascio added 12 points, all from 3-point range, nine rebounds, five steals, two blocks and an assist.
Mesaris scored 12 points as Scranton took a 32-20 halftime lead over Wilkes (2-1), which was only that close because of a running 3-pointer from 25 feet at the buzzer by senior guard Elena Stambone (Jessup, Pa./Valley View), who had a team-high 16 points.
Scranton held the Lady Colonels to just 9-for-27 (33 percent) from the field in the first half to jump out to that double-digit lead.
DiSciascio made three of her four 3-pointers in the second half as Scranton built the lead as big as 18 with 8:51 to play on a 3-pointer from junior guard Jaclyn Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford). DiSciascio's four 3-pointers give her 100 for her career; she is the eighth player in Scranton women's basketball history to reach that milestone.
The Lady Royals also received eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks from sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford). Fellow sophomore forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) added seven points and seven rebounds, and Gantz finished with six points.
Scranton shot 22-for-56 (39.3 percent) from the field, including 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Lady Royals made eight of 12 free throws while committing 18 turnovers. They won the rebounding battle handily, 43-29.
Scranton will take on the winner of Friday night's second game between Muhlenberg and Albertus Magnus in Saturday's title game at 6 p.m. at Muhlenberg.
--ROYALS--