SCRANTON, Pa.—The University of Scranton women's basketball team survived a nerve-wracking 64-57 victory over 23rd-ranked Moravian College Wednesday evening at the Long Center.
Senior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) scored 19 points and pulled down a career high 16 rebounds and sophomore guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Downingtown East) came off the bench and added a career high 16 points as the Lady Royals improved to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in the conference.
Scranton picks up a much-needed win despite turning the ball over a season-high 31 times.
Moravian, which fell to 20-4 overall and 11-2 in the Landmark, was led by sophomore forward Alexis Wright (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) and senior guard Amanda Kreuder (Byram, NJ/Morris Catholic) with 13 points apiece and junior forward/center Laura Jordan (Easton, Pa./Easton) added 12.
Boggan scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds to propel Scranton to a 32-25 halftime lead, but the Lady Royals soon squandered that advantage by turning the ball over on their first four possessions of the second half. Scranton scored only nine points in nearly 13 minutes and found itself trailing by three, 44-41, with 7:16 left.
Boggan then stopped the bleeding with a lay-up, DiSciascio followed with five points, and freshman guard Jaclyn Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) knocked down a 3-pointer during a 10-4 spurt to give Scranton a 5-point lead, 51-46, with 4:13 remaining.
The Lady Royals built up two 7-point margin from the point on, the last of which came on a lay-up by sophomore Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) with 2:10 remaining, but Scranton was far from out of the woods.
The Lady Royals then committed back-to-back turnovers and Moravian responded with a lay-up and a free throw by Krueder to make it a 4-point game with 1:05 remaining.
DiSciascio knocked down four free throws and Fluehr a pair in the final 41 seconds to finally seal it. DiSciascio's previous career high was a 14-point effort against Kean University on December 15 at the Long Center. Fluehr finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals for Scranton, which held a 48-44 rebounding advantage and hit 15 of 20 free throw attempts (75 percent).
Moravian still has a chance to earn the top seed in the Landmark Conference tournament if it can beat 12th-ranked Catholic University in its regular-season finale this Saturday, February 16, at the DuFour Center in Washington, DC. If Scranton beats Goucher College in its final game Saturday, it will play the loser of Catholic-Moravian on the road next Wednesday, February 20, in one of the two semifinal games.
Lady Royals Hold On To Defeat 23rd-Ranked Moravian College, 64-57, Wednesday
Moravian
57
Scranton
64
Final | 1 | 2 | T |
---|---|---|---|
Moravian (20-4/11-2 Ldmark) | 25 | 32 | 57 |
Scranton (17-7/9-4 Lndmark) | 32 | 32 | 64 |
Feb 13, 2013