The University of Scranton women's basketball team fell into a nine-point deficit at halftime and was never able to recover, suffering its first loss of the season, 75-67, to Wilkes University in the Long Center on Wednesday.
Wilkes (5-2) used hot shooting in the first half to jump out to a 41-32 advantage at the break. The Lady Colonels connected on 48.5 percent (16-for-33) from the field in the first half, including six of nine from 3-point range. They cooled off in the second half, making just nine of 29 from the field, but held Scranton at bay by hitting 14 of 16 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.
The Lady Colonels pushed the lead to 14 early in the second half, but Scranton used a 15-8 spurt to cut the lead to seven with 8:20 to play, but got no closer the rest of the way.
The Lady Royals, who are ranked 21st in the D3hoops.com Top 25, shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field, but connected on just two of 16 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range. They stayed close by making 19 of 24 from the free throw line, including 7-for-7 in the first half.
Sophomore forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led Scranton with 30 points and 12 rebounds, marking her third game in the past four with 30 or more points. Senior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, and sophomore guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Wilkes was led by sophomore guard Elena Stambone (Jessup, Pa./Valley View), who scored a game-high 34 points, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range and 12-for-12 from the free throw line.
Scranton held a 42-36 advantage in rebounding, but committed 19 turnovers to 16 by Wilkes.
The victory for Wilkes was just its second in 53 tries against Scranton and its first since the first matchup between the schools back on Feb. 17, 1975.
The Lady Royals are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Center Valley, Pa. to face DeSales at 1 p.m.
--LADY ROYALS--