SELINSGROVE, Pa.—The last thing The University of Scranton needed was a letdown against Susquehanna University Friday evening at Houts Gymnasium.

With a big showdown against Juniata College looming Saturday afternoon, the Lady Royals avoided looking ahead by dismantling the Crusaders, 75-38, in the first of a two-game Landmark Conference road trip.  The win was the eighth straight for Scranton, now 17-5 overall and 11-1 in the conference.

First-year guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./Saint Rose) and senior guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) paced a balanced Lady Royal attack with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while senior guard Erika Barron (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area) scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half for Susquehanna, now 11-12 overall and 6-6 in the Landmark Conference.

The Lady Royals led from start to finish and dominated the Crusaders in all phases of the games, holding a 34-6 advantage in points in the paint, a 40-4 margin in bench points, and a 45-34 edge in rebounding. 

And in a lot of ways, it could not have played out any better for Scranton.  Veteran head coach Mike Strong was able to give his starting lineup adequate rest in preparation for tomorrow's game at Juniata.  Only two starters played at least 20 minutes—sophomore forward Shernai Bentley (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) played 21 minutes and Kopecki 20—and the Lady Royals didn't miss a beat when their bench took up the slack for most of the second half.

In fact, the reserves turned it up a notch as Scranton shot nearly 64 percent from the field (14 of 22) in the final 20 minutes of play to finish 49.1 percent for the game.

The Crusaders look anything like the team that took the Lady Royals to the wire in a 68-57 loss at the Long Center on January 15.  They made just 4 of 27 field goal attempts (14.8 percent) to fall behind 33-11 at intermission. 

For the game, Susquehanna shot a mere 21.3 percent from the field, 12.5 percent from the 3-point arc, and only 55.2 percent from the free throw line.  The loss drops the Crusaders into fifth place with two games remaining, one game behind Catholic University, which has a much easier schedule down the stretch.

A win over Juniata, which defeated Moravian, 76-61, this evening to remain one game behind Scranton in the standings, guarantees the Lady Royals the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament regardless of how they fare against Moravian College in their final game of the season on Saturday, February 19, at the Long Center.  Tomorrow's game against Juniata tips-off at 2:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

News & Notes:  The Lady Royals have won 28 straight games against Susquehanna and now lead the all-time series, 30-1…Scranton has now held 17 of its last 19 opponents under 60 points…senior guard Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) finished with nine points and four blocks in 19 minutes of action...Lady Royal senior forward Courtney Roselle (Cedar Grove, N.J./Mount St. Dominic Academy) returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering an ankle injury against Juniata College on January 14 and finished with four points, three rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes of action.

Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 75, SUSQUEHANNA 38

SCRANTON (17-5/11-1 Landmark)
Alison Sweeney 4-8 5-8 14; Megan Kopecki 6-11 1-2 13; Jennifer King 3-5 0-0 9; Christina Hiltunen 3-3 0-1 7; Katie Cunningham 3-5 0-1 6; Tayler Pallotta 2-5 2-2 6; Colleen McLane 2-5 0-0 5; Katherine Torto 1-4 2-2 5; Courtney Roselle 1-2 2-4 4; Sidney Jaques 0-2 2-3 2; Shernai Bentley 1-3 0-0 2; Sarah Gage 1-1 0-0 2; Katie Sherry 0-0 0-0 0; Brianna Reigstad 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 27-55 14-25 75.

SUSQUEHANNA (11-12/6-6 Landmark)
Erika Barron 4-11 9-9 18; Samantha Cartwright 3-9 1-4 7; Korey McCaffrey 2-7 1-2 6; Amarra Boone 0-1 2-4 2; Gina Palazzi 1-5 0-2 2; Samantha Pelletier 0-1 1-2 1; Rachael Hughes 0-7 1-2 1; Rachel Schaible 0-1 1-2 1; Nikki Schneck 0-1 0-0 0; Jackie Clarke 0-0 0-0 0; Shannon Grunwald 0-1 0-0 0; Amanda Eich 0-0 0-0 0; Ainsley Rossitto 0-3 0-0 0; Ariana Stowe 0-0 0-2 0; Mariah Monahan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-47 16-29 38.

The University of Scranton....   33   42  -   75
Susquehanna...................   11   27  -   38

3-point goals--The University of Scranton 7-21 (Jennifer King 3-5; Christina Hiltunen 1-1; Katherine Torto 1-2; Alison Sweeney 1-5; Colleen McLane 1-1; Sidney Jaques 0-1; Brianna Reigstad 0-1; Tayler Pallotta 0-1; Katie Cunningham 0-2; Megan Kopecki 0-2), Susquehanna 2-16 (Erika Barron 1-8; Korey McCaffrey 1-5; Rachael Hughes 0-1; Nikki Schneck 0-1; Shannon Grunwald 0-1). Fouled out--The University of Scranton-None, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds--The University of Scranton 45 (Megan Kopecki 8), Susquehanna 34 (Korey McCaffrey 5). Assists--The University of Scranton 15 (Megan Kopecki 6), Susquehanna 4 (Erika Barron 3). Total fouls--The University of Scranton17, Susquehanna 19. Technical fouls--The University of Scranton-None, Susquehanna-None. A-626