WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Scranton women's basketball team made a handful of key plays down the stretch to take control of a see-saw battle for first place en route to a 77-66 victory over Catholic in the DuFour Center on Saturday night.

Scranton (20-3, 12-1 Landmark) moves into first place alone, one game ahead of both Catholic (17-5, 10-2 Landmark) and Moravian (19-4, 10-2 Landmark) with all three teams having two games remaining. The Royals hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals after sweeping the season series. Scranton will travel to Moravian on Wednesday, Feb. 19, looking to avenge its only loss in Landmark play.

Freshman forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) led the way with 18 points, junior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) finished with 16, and junior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) added 12 in the victory.

After Scranton trailed 36-35 at halftime – just the team's second halftime deficit all season – the game remained a back-and-forth affair until the game was tied at 64 with 6:58 to play. From that point on, the Lady Royals scored 13 of the final 15 points, holding Catholic to 0-for-6 from the field and two turnovers the rest of the way.

Scranton started the run with five straight points before Catholic hit two free throws, the Cardinals' final points of the night. Moments later came maybe the biggest of the many clutch plays down the stretch, as Payonk stepped outside to attempt her first 3-pointer of the season, and it found the bottom of the net for a 72-66 win with 3:52 to play.

Mesaris then scored inside and hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to double digits, and Payonk added a free throw late to provide the final margin.

Mesaris finished with 15 second-half points and DiSciascio had seven as the Lady Royals went 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) from the field in the second half. They also made 15 of 19 free throws and forced 10 Catholic turnovers in the final 20 minutes.

Scranton went 7-for-18 (38.9 percent) from 3-point range as six different players connected from beyond the arc. The Lady Royals finished the night 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) from the field and 24-for-29 (82.8 percent) from the free throw line. They committed 16 turnovers, but forced 23 miscues by Catholic.

Junior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) finished with seven points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal, and senior guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) and freshman forward Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) had seven points apiece. Payonk also had six rebounds and five assists, and DiSciascio finished with five rebounds.

Catholic was led by sophomore guard Jayni Webster (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Country Day Sacred Heart), who had 19 points, including five 3-pointers. The Cardinals were 22-for-54 (40.7 percent) from the field, 7-for-20 from 3-point range and 15-for-20 from the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle, 37-36.

Scranton will have a chance to clinch the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference playoffs when the Lady Royals travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on Moravian on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. 

--LADY ROYALS--