BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Faced with the potential end to her team's season and her own career, senior Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) hit possibly the biggest shot of her career to breathe life into The University of Scranton women's basketball team.
Boggan drilled an 18-foot jump shot with five seconds to play to lift the Lady Royals to a 72-71 victory over Moravian College in a Landmark Conference semifinal on Wednesday evening at Johnston Hall.
The victory puts Scranton (19-7), the No. 3 seed, in Saturday's championship game against top-seeded Catholic in Washington, D.C. at a time to be determined. The Cardinals (25-1) posted a 72-59 victory over fourth-seeded Juniata in Wednesday's other semifinal in Washington, D.C.
Boggan's clutch jumper capped a thrilling back-and-forth end to the game that saw neither team lead by more than three points over the final 13:44. There were also nine lead changes and six ties during that span.
The Greyhounds (20-6) held a three-point lead at 69-66 with 4:05 to play before Scranton made a series of key plays to pull out the win. The stretch started when sophomore guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) scored on a layup after an offensive rebound by fellow sophomore guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara).
Fluehr then made a steal at the top of the key and went the length of the court for another layup to put Scranton ahead by one, 70-69, with 2:40 remaining. After both teams had two empty possessions each, Moravian found itself with the ball and 42 seconds to play.
The Lady Royals played tough defense, but were eventually called for a foul with 20 seconds left. The Greyhounds missed the front end of the one-and-one and Fluehr pulled down the rebound, giving Scranton the ball and the shot clock turned off.
After Moravian committed a foul on the floor with nine seconds left, Scranton worked the ball to Boggan at the top of the key, where she drilled the deep jumper with a defender right in front of her with a hand up. Moravian raced the ball upcourt, but a jumper just before the buzzer was off the mark.
Scranton trailed by four at halftime, 31-27, but got 20 points in the second half from sophomore forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), who finished with a game-high 21 points. Fluehr added 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals, and junior guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) added nine points, including seven in the second half, to go along with five assists.
Boggan had a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. In three games against Moravian this year, two of them victories, Boggan averaged 18.3 points and 13 rebounds. Her 16 rebounds matched her career high, set in a 64-57 victory over Moravian a week ago in the Long Center on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
The Lady Royals shot 40.3 percent for the game, including 18-for-37 (48.6 percent) in the second half. They made six of 17 3-point attempts (35.3 percent) and eight of 10 free throws. Scranton turned the ball over 16 times while winning the rebounding battle, 45-42.
Moravian, the No. 2 seed, was led by sophomore forward Alexis Wright (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin), who scored 19 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and had six blocks, and junior guard Danielle Brogan (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills), who had 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Greyhounds shot 41.2 percent (28-for-68) and hit five of 11 3-pointers (45.5 percent). They connected on 10 of 17 free throws and committed 15 turnovers.
The game time for Saturday's championship will be announced on Thursday. The Lady Royals will be aiming for their third Landmark Conference championship and first since they won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009. The winner of Saturday's title game receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field for the tournament will be announced on Monday, Feb. 25.
--LADY ROYALS--