SCRANTON, Pa.—Senior guard Colleen McLane (Scranton, Pa.) emerged as an unlikely hero in The University of Scranton's 68-57 victory over Susquehanna University in Landmark Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Long Center.
With the Lady Royal offense struggling for the second straight game, McLane buried two 3-pointers late in the second half to spark an 8-0 run as Scranton pulled away to improve to 10-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference. McLane, who entered the game shooting just 28 percent from the 3-point line, finished with nine points, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Fellow senior guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J.) led the Lady Royals with 21 points and first-year guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J.) chipped in 12.
Susquehanna, now 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the Landmark Conference, was led by senior guard Erika Barron (Tamaqua, Pa.) with 14 points and sophomore forward Gina Palazzi (Newfoundland, Pa.) finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
The Crusaders, who trailed by only three at intermission and by a point with 5:05 remaining, also received 12 points apiece from senior guard Rachael Hughes (Gordon, Pa.) and senior forward/center Samantha Cartwright (Cranford, N.J.).
Reminiscent of last night's meltdown in an 81-68 loss to Juniata College, the Lady Royals once again jumped out to an early lead only to watch their offense sputter. Scranton built up two 7-point leads in the first half but had trouble finding the mark the rest of the way and settled for a 27-24 lead by intermission. The Lady Royals shot just 28.1 percent (9 of 32) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Neither team was able to establish any type of rhythm in the second half. Barron, who scored 11 second-half points, gave the Crusaders their first lead of the second half by connecting on a 3-pointer to break a 32-32 tie with 15:26 remaining. She also knocked down a jump shot with 6:43 left to give Susquehanna a 49-46 advantage before Kopecki converted a traditional 3-point play to tie the game for the sixth and final time.
Sweeney then put Scranton ahead for good with a 3-pointer and McLane followed with a pair of 3s around a lay-up by first-year guard Katie Cunningham (Garden City, N.J./Kellenberg Memorial) to key the game-breaking rally.
Kopecki finished with eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks for Scranton, which shot nearly 48 percent from the field in the second half to finish 36.4 percent for the game. Susquehanna also shot a respectable 43.4 percent from the field, but the Crusaders were guilty of 24 turnovers that resulted in 22 points for Scranton. Susquehanna also turned 15 Lady Royal turnovers into 20 points.
The Lady Royals will open a two-game Landmark Conference road trip next Friday, January 21, against the Cardinals of Catholic University beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the DuFour Center in Washington, DC.
News & Notes: Scranton has won the last 27 meetings with Susquehanna and leads the all-time
Series, 29-1…Kopecki's 21-point output was her third 20-or-more effort of the season and the 36th of her career…Lady Royals played without starting forward Courtney Roselle (Cedar Grove, N.J./Mount St. Dominic), who suffered an ankle injury in Friday night's loss to Juniata.
Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 68, SUSQUEHANNA 57
SUSQUEHANNA (7-9/2-3 Landmark)
Erika Barron 4-9 4-5 14; Gina Palazzi 6-13 1-3 13; Rachael Hughes 6-13 0-1 12; Samantha Cartwright 5-10 2-2 12; Shannon Grunwald 1-2 0-0 2; Samantha Pelletier 0-0 2-2 2; Amarra Boone 1-3 0-0 2; Korey McCaffrey 0-2 0-0 0; Nikki Schneck 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 9-13 57.
SCRANTON (10-5/4-1 Landmark)
Megan Kopecki 4-9 13-16 21; Alison Sweeney 5-13 0-0 12; Sarah Gage 2-6 5-8 9; Colleen McLane 3-8 0-0 9; Jennifer King 2-7 2-3 8; Tayler Pallotta 2-3 0-0 4; Shernai Bentley 1-2 1-4 3; Katie Cunningham 1-4 0-2 2; Christina Hiltunen 0-2 0-0 0; Sidney Jaques 0-0 0-0 0; Katherine Torto 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 21-33 68.
Susquehanna................... 24 33 - 57
The University of Scranton.... 27 41 - 68
3-point goals--Susquehanna 2-12 (Erika Barron 2-7; Gina Palazzi 0-1; Shannon Grunwald 0-1; Korey McCaffrey 0-2; Nikki Schneck 0-1), The University of Scranton 7-20 (Colleen McLane 3-5; Alison Sweeney 2-5; Jennifer King 2-6; Katie Cunningham 0-2; Christina Hiltunen 0-1; Katherine Torto 0-1). Fouled out--Susquehanna-Korey McCaffrey, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds--Susquehanna 38 (Shannon Grunwald 8), The University of Scranton 35 (Megan Kopecki 6). Assists--Susquehanna 13 (Erika Barron 4), The University of Scranton 14 (Megan Kopecki 8). Total fouls--Susquehanna 23, The University of Scranton 17. Technical fouls--Susquehanna-None, The University of Scranton-None. A-300