Juniata College used a stifling defensive effort and a big second half to beat The University of Scranton women's basketball team, 66-45, on Friday night in the John Long Center.
The Eagles, who are ranked 13th in the d3hoops.com poll and 11th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, held Scranton to just 20.9 percent (14-for-67) shooting in the game. Juniata improves to 20-1 overall and 10-0 in the Landmark Conference, good for first place. The Lady Royals fall to 12-9 overall and 7-3 in the conference in third place, a game behind Catholic.
Scranton was led by 13 points and six rebounds from freshman forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax). Junior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) added seven points and 11 rebounds, her sixth game this season with 10-or-more rebounds.
Juniata jumped out to a 22-7 lead with nine minutes to go in the first half, but Scranton closed the gap to within six before going into the locker room down, 29-21. But the Eagles went on a 9-1 run to open the second half en route to 37 second-half points to turn the game into a rout.
Juniata had 12 steals while forcing 19 Scranton turnovers, which led to 14 points for the Eagles. Juniata also had a 16-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The 45 points was Scranton's lowest offensive output in the Long Center since a 70-45 loss to Kean University on Dec. 14, 2009. Juniata has now won five straight against Scranton, which leads the all-time series between the schools, 28-7.
The Eagles were led by sophomore forward Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area), who had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Ashton Bankos (York , Pa./York Catholic) scored the 1,000th point of her career in a 15-point, 14-rebound performance, and junior guard Jordan Speck (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) had 13 points.
The Lady Royals return to action on Saturday when they host Susquehanna in the Long Center at 2 p.m. Senior guard Sidney Jaques (Rosemont, N.J./North Hunterdon) will be honored prior to the game as part of Scranton's Senior Day festivities.
--LADY ROYALS--