KINGS POINT, N.Y.—With two starters nursing minor injuries, veteran University of Scranton head coach Mike Strong didn't take any chances against the Merchant Marine Academy in the third of a four-game Landmark Conference road trip Friday evening at O'Hara Hall.

Senior guards Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) and Colleen McLane (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Preparatory), sophomore forward Tayler Pallotta (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) and first-year guard Katie Cunningham (Garden City, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) more than made up for the absence of senior guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) and junior forward Sarah Gage (Ledgewood, N.J./Roxbury) in leading the Lady Royals to a 66-58 victory.

King finished with 14 points and Pallotta scored a season-high 12 points as Scranton won its fourth straight and fifth in its last six games to improve to 13-5 overall and 7-1 in the Landmark Conference.  Cunningham and McLane chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Lady Royals held off a late rally after building up a double-digit lead with less than eight minutes remaining.

Sophomore guard Tamara Kaileh (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) scored 15 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and senior forward Janay Weathers (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbed) and senior guard Rebecca Grimes (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI Catholic) tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Merchant Marine Academy, which dropped its fifth straight game to fall to 5-12 overall and 0-8 in the conference.

Making her first start of the season, Pallotta dominated down low early, scoring six straight points as the Lady Royals bolted out to an early 13-2 lead, a start reminiscent of Scranton's 82-51 victory over the Mariners at the Long Center on January 9.  The Mariners regrouped and stayed within nine points by intermission.

Scranton built up a double-digit lead early in the second half and appeared to have the game well in hand.  Kaileh and Weathers continued to attack the basket and the Mariners whittled the lead down to six points in the final minute before Cunningham buried three of four free throw attempts to seal the victory.

The Lady Royals will end the road trip tomorrow afternoon against Drew University at Baldwin Gymnasium in Madison, New Jersey, at 2:00 p.m.

News & Notes:  Kopecki and Gage were in uniform for tonight's game but did not play for the second straight game…Scranton is 9-0 all-time against the Merchant Marine Academy…it was only the fourth time this season that the Lady Royals were involved in a game decided by 6-10 points (Scranton is 2-2 in these games)…Pallotta's 12 points was four shy of tying her career-high of 16 against Baruch College on January 19, 2010, at the Long Center.

Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 66, MERCHANT MARINE ACAD 58

SCRANTON (13-5/7-1 Landmark)
Jennifer King 6-10 0-0 14; Tayler Pallotta 6-11 0-0 12; Katie Cunningham 3-12 3-4 11; Colleen McLane 3-7 2-2 10; KC Hawkes 3-7 2-2 8; Alison Sweeney 3-10 0-0 7; Katherine Torto 1-2 1-2 3; Shernai Bentley 0-2 1-2 1; Christina Hiltunen 0-1 0-0 0; Sidney Jaques 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 9-12 66.

MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY (5-12/0-8 Landmark)
Tamara Kaileh 6-11 7-11 20; Janay Weathers 5-11 3-4 13; Rebecca Grimes 5-12 0-0 11; Alicen Heinrich 2-6 1-2 5; Olivia Norris 2-6 0-0 5; Kristina Walz 2-3 0-0 4; Nicole Barriga 0-0 0-0 0; Roshenda Josephs 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 11-17 58.

The University of Scranton....   32   34  -   66
Merchant Marine Acad..........   23   35  -   58

3-point goals--The University of Scranton 7-25 (Katie Cunningham 2-6; Colleen McLane 2-4; Jennifer King 2-5; Alison Sweeney 1-5; Christina Hiltunen 0-1; Sidney Jaques 0-1; Katherine Torto 0-1; KC Hawkes 0-2), Merchant Marine Acad 3-7 (Rebecca Grimes 1-3; Olivia Norris 1-3; Tamara Kaileh 1-1). Fouled out--The University of Scranton-None, Merchant Marine Acad-Rebecca Grimes; Tamara Kaileh. Rebounds--The University of Scranton 31 (Jennifer King 4; Sidney Jaques 4; Colleen McLane 4), Merchant Marine Acad 42 (Janay Weathers 8). Assists--The University of Scranton 15 (Colleen McLane 6), Merchant Marine Acad 9 (Roshenda Josephs 4). Total fouls—The University of Scranton 16, Merchant Marine Acad 16. Technical fouls—The University of Scranton-None, Merchant Marine Acad-None. A-59