BETHLEHEM, Pa. – If The University of Scranton women's basketball team felt it had something to prove after suffering its first Landmark Conference loss four days ago, consider that something proven.

Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) and sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) all had huge games as the 13th-ranked Lady Royals thumped Moravian, 82-57, at Johnston Hall on Wednesday evening.

The first number that jumps off the box score is Mesaris' 30 points on 12-for-15 shooting from the field. It was her third game of the season and seventh of her career with 30 or more points.

Fluehr was partly responsible for a large portion of Mesaris' output as she finished with a season-high 12 assists. She added six points and four rebounds while committing just one turnover in a team-high 37 minutes.

And despite those two performances, it's impossible to overlook Payonk, who had 19 points, seven rebounds, seven blocks, five assists and three steals in 28 minutes. The seven blocks were a career high.

The Lady Royals (16-2, 8-1 Landmark) also received 11 points from senior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), who made three of five from beyond the 3-point line.

As good as the final box score looks, the start wasn't as pretty for Scranton. After Mesaris scored to start the game, Moravian (9-8, 5-3 Landmark) scored seven straight points in just 67 seconds. But the Lady Royals regrouped and went on an 18-4 run to take a 22-13 lead midway through the half and took a seven-point lead into halftime as Mesaris finished with 16 points.

Scranton later used a 16-2 second-half run to turn a 63-51 lead with 8:08 remaining into a 79-51 lead with 2:11 left. Payonk had 11 points, six rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists in the second half.

The Lady Royals finished the night going 31-for-57 (54.4 percent) from the field and 15-for-16 (93.8 percent). After trailing early in the rebounding battle, the wound up with a 34-32 advantage, and committed just 14 turnovers.

Moravian received a team-high 13 points from junior forward Alesha Marcks (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) and 11 points from junior guard Emily MacDonnell (Springfield, N.J./Jonathan Dayton).

Scranton now has a week off before they host Drew University on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Long Center.

--LADY ROYALS--