THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—Senior forward Tayler Pallotta (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) provided the spark The University of Scranton women's basketball team so sorely needed Monday afternoon against 17th-ranked Emmanuel College (Mass.) at the Gilbert Arena.

Pallotta came off the bench and scored seven of her season-high 11 points in the second half as the Lady Royals overcame a 9-point halftime deficit to pull out a 50-46 victory in the second game of the Posada Royale Winter Classic.  She was far from the only player off the bench that turned the game in Scranton's favor.  

The Lady Royals, now 10-3, also received five points and six rebounds from freshman guard Jaclyn Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), five points from freshman guard Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East), and four points, nine rebounds, and seven steals from senior forward Shernai Bentley (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley).

All-in-all, the Lady Royal reserves out-scored Emmanuel's bench, 27-3, and out-rebounded them, 16-4.

More importantly, Scranton survived an early knock-out punch, as Emmanuel, now 8-3, connected on 9 of its first 11 shots to bolt out to a 19-6 lead.  And even though the Saints shot nearly 52 percent from the field, they failed to take full advantage of a sloppy first half by the Lady Royals, who made just 6 of 23 field goal attempts (26.1 percent) and turned the ball over 17 times.  Scranton was extremely fortunate to be behind by just 33-24 at intermission.

The Saints quickly built up another 13-point lead early in the second half, but went scoreless during an 8-minute span, which allowed the Lady Royals to claw their way back.  Gantz and Pallotta combined for nine points during an 18-1 run that gave Scranton a 42-38 lead with 12:02 left.

After Pallotta buried a jump shot with 5:29 left to give the Lady Royals' its largest lead, 45-40, Emmanuel senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) scored six straight points to regain the lead for the Saints.  She finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds.

Sophomore guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) canned two free throws with 2:26 left to give Scranton the lead for good, 47-46, and hit another with 15 seconds remaining to make it a two-point game.  The Saints then missed two shots on their final possession before Lady Royal senior guard Christina Hiltunen (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) made two free throws after a technical foul with two seconds remaining to set the final score.

Emmanuel cooled off considerably in the second half, making just 6 of 30 field goal attempts (20 percent).  For the game, the Saints were also guilty of 26 turnovers.

Remarkably, the Lady Royals pulled out the win despite shooting only 31.3 percent from the field (15 of 48) and committing 28 turnovers.  Scranton did, however, connect on 16 of 18 free throw attempts (88.9 percent).

Fluehr finished with seven points, six assists, and three rebounds in 35 minutes of action for the Lady Royals, who will return to Landmark Conference action this Saturday, January 5, against the Golden Eagles of Juniata College at the Kennedy Sports & Recreation Center in Huntington, Pennsylvania, beginning at 2:00 p.m.