UNION, NJ—Junior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) came through with a milestone performance to help The University of Scranton women's basketball team pick up a milestone win Sunday afternoon

DiSciascio came off the bench and finished with a career-high 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lift the Lady Royals past Kean University, 82-74, as Scranton earned its NCAA-record 900th victory in the program's storied 39-year history.

The Lady Royals, who won their third straight game to improve to 5-2, also received 15 points from junior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), 14 points and 15 rebounds from freshman forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford), and 11 and 10 points from junior guards Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) and Stephanie Keyes (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Archbishop Wood), respectively.

The final score was anything but a true indication of today's game.  It was a close from the start, and remained that way until Payonk converted a lay-up with 51 seconds left and Fluehr followed with two free throws after the Cougars missed 3-pointer, which turned a narrow four-point Lady Royal lead into a nine-point cushion with 36 seconds remaining.  With the pressure on, Scranton made 9 of 12 free throw attempts in the final 2:47 of play.

If anything, the Lady Royals may have found their 3-point shooting touch after struggling from beyond the arc in their first six games.  Scranton made 7 of 14 attempts in the first half and finished a respectable 37.5 percent (9 of 24) for the game.

And for the second straight game, the Lady Royal bench came to forefront, out-scoring Kean's reserves, 36-15, less than 24 hours after putting up big numbers in yesterday's 77-44 victory over the Merchant Marine Academy at the Long Center.   In addition to DiSciascio and Keyes's efforts, sophomore guard Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) provided a big lift, too, finishing with eight points and three assists in 24 minutes of action.

Payonk continues to be a dominating presence down low.  She posted her third 'double-double' of the season and finished with three blocks and three steals in 38 minutes of action.    

Kean, which fell to 4-5 on the season, was led by junior guard AnnaRose Pierre (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) with 17 points and 14 rebounds and freshman guard Jaquetta Owens (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) added 17 points.

Today's win also puts veteran head coach Mike Strong one step closer to another personal milestone.  The NCAA all-time leader in coaching victories in Division III women's basketball history, Strong is now only six wins shy of 800 for his career.

The Lady Royals will return to action this Friday, December 20, against Guilford College (NC) at the Daytona Beach Shootout in Daytona Beach, Florida, beginning at 12:00 noon.  Scranton will also meet up with Gettysburg College the following day at noon.

Editor's Note:  The NCAA website lists Scranton as the all-time leader in wins with 892 in 38 seasons.  It was discovered that women's basketball actually started at Scranton during the 1974-1975 academic year and that the Lady Royals posted a 3-5 record in that initial season under then head coach Ann Pietrobone.  Those three wins, coupled with five this season, give Scranton 900.