Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led The University of Scranton women's basketball team in scoring for the 14th time this season and sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) had a double-double as the Lady Royals rolled to a 69-42 victory over Goucher on Saturday afternoon in the Long Center.

Mesaris had 16 points and five rebounds, and Payonk finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds as seventh-ranked Scranton (14-1, 6-0 Landmark) won for the sixth straight game and remained in first place in the Landmark Conference.

With her 16 points, Mesaris is now six shy of 1,500 for her career. She would become the sixth player in Lady Royals' history to reach that milestone. She finished Saturday's game going 7-for-15 from the field while playing just 16 minutes.

Payonk was equally as impressive with her third double-double of the season to go along with five assists, three steals and three blocks. She had four points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in the first half to spark the Lady Royals to 39-16 lead at the break.

Scranton also received nine points on a trio of 3-pointers from senior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and eight points from sophomore forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack). Senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) finished with six points, nine assists and five rebounds, her fifth game this season with eight or more assists. And sophomore guard Lexi McGivern (Bethlehem, Pa./Notre Dame) chipped in with five points and a career-high seven rebounds off the bench.

The Lady Royals were 28-for-62 (45.2 percent) from the field and made eight of 10 free throws. They dominated the rebounding battle, 45-30, and scored 36 points in the paint.

Goucher (4-9, 0-5 Landmark) was led by sophomore guard Jaida Scarborough (Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor), who had 15 points, seven assists and five steals. The Gophers were 20-for-56 (35.7 percent) from the field and two of seven from the free throw line.

Scranton returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 14, when the Lady Royals travel to Kings Point, N.Y. to take on Merchant Marine Academy at 7 p.m.

--ROYALS--