TOWSON, Md. – Facing the tallest player in the league, junior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) and senior forward Katie Sherry (Havertown, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) proved that quickness and agility cannot be overlooked.
The duo combined for 38 points to lead The University of Scranton women's basketball team to a 65-47 victory over Goucher College on Saturday evening in the Decker Center. The victory is the 11th straight for the Lady Royals', their longest since they won 19 straight during the 2008-09 season.
Facing Gophers' 6-foot-5 sophomore center Amaka Ezeani (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch), as well as two other 6-footers, Mesaris, Sherry and Scranton's other post players used their speed, agility and basketball savvy to their advantage. As a result, the Lady Royals scored 34 points in the paint compared to just 18 for Goucher.
Mesaris finished with a game-high 23 points, marking the sixth straight game and 11th this season in which she's led Scranton (13-2, 5-0 Landmark) in scoring.
More impressively, Sherry scored a career-high 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the floor. A seldom-used reserve who averaged 1.1 points in 29 career games over the past three seasons, Sherry is averaging 3.6 points per game while shooting 73.1 percent from the field in 14 games off the bench this season. Her 15 points on Saturday give her 28 over the past three games. She scored 32 points in her first three seasons combined.
Scranton also received a strong all-around game from junior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), who finished with eight points, five assists, five steals, four rebounds and two blocks. Junior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) added six points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The Lady Royals took a 30-24 lead into halftime after Goucher buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Gophers cut the deficit to just three twice in the first two minutes of the second half and still trailed by only three, 39-36, with 14:13 to play after going on a 6-1 spurt.
But Scranton answered with a 12-0 run that started with a 3-pointer from Mesaris and ended with a triple from DiSciascio. Goucher momentarily trimmed the deficit back to eight with 5:46 to play, but the Lady Royals followed with a 9-2 run to seal the victory.
Scranton shot 25-for-50 from the field, including 3-for-13 from 3-point range. The Lady Royals overcame 19 turnovers by making 14 steals that they turned into 22 points. They also won the rebounding battle, 36-27, as Mesaris finished with seven boards and sophomore guard Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) added five.
Goucher was led by senior guard Sharnell Huff (Bowie, Md./Bowie), who scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for the third straight game and fourth time this season. Sophomore guard India Perkins (Brentwood, Md./Bladensburg) added 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Gophers shot just 32.1 percent (17-for-53) from the field, including 3-for-11 from 3-point range. They committed 23 turnovers in the defeat.
Scranton is back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 22, when the Lady Royals host Drew University in a Landmark Conference game at 7 p.m. in the Long Center.
--ROYALS--