CRANTON, Pa. – CUA was upended by Scranton on Saturday afternoon by a score of 67-53 as the Cardinals were forced to settle for a weekend split.  CUA led by one at halftime, and trailed by only three with 6:35 to play, but the Royals eventually outlasted the Cardinals.  With the loss CUA falls to 14-8 overall and 6-5 in the league.

CUA led 42-37 with 13:56 to play in the game following a bucket by Mary McGann, but Scranton answered with six quick points to surge on top, 43-42.  Katarina Owunna gave the lead back to the Cardinals with her basket at the 12:43 mark, but Jennifer King's three-pointer with 9:26 on the clock put the Royals in front 46-44.

King hit another three, this one coming with 6:11 to play, and that gave the home team a 54-48 advantage.  Alison Sweeney's three at the 4:06 mark then made it a nine-point affair and the Royals sank 6 of 7 free throws in the final 2:08 to seal the victory.

Owunna (13) and Jill Woerner (12) finished in double figures for the Cardinals, who went 0-of-8 from three-point range on the afternoon.  Owunna pulled down a team-best nine boards for CUA, while senior Kerri Confrey handed out eight of the team's 19 assists.  The Cardinals turned the ball over 24 times and forced Scranton into only 13 TOs.

Three Scranton players hit double digits, including Megan Kopecki (19), King (17) and Sweeney (12).  The Royals sank 11 shots from downtown and shot 87.5 percent from the free throw line. 

The teams weren't separated by more than three points for the first eight minutes of the game until Emily Grabiak sank a jumper for CUA to give the Cardinals a 14-9 lead with 11:34 on the clock. 

Liz Briones scored from inside with 10:41 to play to put CUA on top by six, and Claire McEvily's jumper a minute later again gave the visitors a six-point cushion.

A layup by Tayler Pallotta followed by a Sweeney three-pointer brought the Royals within a point with 8:13 to play before halftime, but CUA reeled off six straight capped by Woerner's jumper with 6:38 on the clock, to go back on top by seven.

The Royals answered with a 7-0 run of their own, including another three by Sweeney, this one coming with 3:18 to play, and that tied things at 26.  CUA then scored the next four points to take a 30-26 lead, but Kopecki's trifecta with 1:04 remaining set the halftime margin at one, 30-29 in favor of the Cardinals.

CUA wraps up the regular season with a three-game homestand, beginning on Friday, February 11 when the Cardinals welcome Drew to the DuFour Center.  Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.