Sophomore guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) tied her career high with 31 points and junior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) added 19 points and 11 rebounds as The University of Scranton women's basketball team won its home opener, 82-75, over cross-town rival Marywood on Wednesday night in the Long Center.
Sweeney drilled six three pointers, including four in the first half, to lead Scranton and equal her career high, which she set in a 68-67 overtime loss at Juniata on Feb. 12, 2011. Boggan's 19 points set a career high for the junior, who transferred to Scranton after two years at Gardner-Webb, a Division I school in Boiling Springs, N.C. The double-double was her second straight.
Freshman guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) had a career-high 11 assists for the Lady Royals. Those 11 assists tied for 10th most in a single game in Scranton history and are the most ever in a single game for a Lady Royals freshman.
The win also moved Lady Royals head coach Mike Strong within two victories of breaking the all-time wins record for NCAA Division III women's coaches.
Scranton (2-3) jumped out to a quick lead and carried it into the break, 38-30, when Sweeney drained a 3-pointer from 24 feet three seconds before the horn. Marywood clawed back into the game early in the second half and held the lead for a brief period midway through the second half.
Sweeney drilled a trey to put Scranton up, 61-58, with 9:05 to play, but picked up her fourth foul 20 seconds later and was forced to take a seat on the bench. She returned at the 5:52 mark with Scranton leading 67-65 and made another 3-pointer about a minute later to extend the advantage to 72-67. Senior guard Sidney Jaques (Rosemont, N.J./Hunterdon Central) added a triple less than a minute later and the Scranton lead never fell below five the rest of the way as Sweeney hit four free throws in the final 16 seconds.
Junior guard Christina Hiltunen (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) came off the bench to add eight points and Jaques finished with seven.
With the victory, Scranton remains perfect all-time against Marywood, improving to 33-0 against the Pacers.
Marywood (4-2) was paced by 17 points from senior guard Marielle Thorsen (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere) and 12 each from freshman guard Ashley Murray (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) and senior guard Mariah Schaeffer (Bainbridge, N.Y./Bainbridge-Guilford). Freshman guard Morgann Haduck (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) added 10.
The Lady Royals will open Landmark Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. in the Long Center. The University of Scranton's men's team will face Moravian at 2 p.m., followed by the annual Wall of Fame ceremony.
--LADY ROYALS--