The University of Scranton women's basketball team placed four players in double figures en route to clinching a Landmark Conference playoff berth with a 72-64 victory over Drew University on Wednesday evening in the Long Center.

Sophomore forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led the Lady Royals (16-6, 8-3 Landmark) with 20 points and seven rebounds, and senior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Junior guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) added 15 points and four assists and senior guard Christina Hiltunen (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) came off the bench to add 10 points, three steals and two assists.

The victory keeps Scranton in third place in the Landmark Conference, one game ahead of Juniata and two behind Catholic and Moravian, which are tied for first at 10-1 in the conference. The win also improves the Lady Royals to 67-0 all-time against Drew, which is in fifth place in the conference, four games behind Scranton with just three games remaining.

Scranton built a 10-point lead late in the first half, but Drew (8-14, 4-7 Landmark) closed with a 7-2 run to cut the Lady Royals' advantage to 33-28 at the break. Boggan and Sweeney had 10 points each as Scranton shot 12-for-25 (48 percent) and made all seven free throw attempts.

The Rangers used an early 10-2 run in the second half to take a 38-37 lead at the 17:28 mark of the second half. Sweeney hit a 3 on Scranton's next possession and the teams traded buckets until the Lady Royals went on an 11-1 run to lead 53-43 with 10:38 to play. The Rangers got no closer than seven the rest of the way as Scranton made 18 second-half free throws.

Scranton shot 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field in the game, including 3-for-13 from 3-point range. The Lady Royals finished 25-for-29 (86.2 percent) from the free throw line and won the rebounding battle, 38-36. They committed 16 turnovers, just six of which came in the second half.

Drew was led by senior guard Jennifer Mateo (Union City, N.J./Union City), who hit seven 3-pointers and scored a game-high 28 points, including 18 in the second half, and had eight rebounds.. The Rangers shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field, including 7-for-16 from 3-point range. They connected on 11 of 14 free throws and committed 18 turnovers.

Scranton returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 9, when they hold Senior Day ceremonies prior to the tip-off of their game against Catholic at 5 p.m. in the Long Center. 

--LADY ROYALS--