It won't go down in University of Scranton women's basketball history as one of the most efficient victories, but the Lady Royals got the job done on a night when they didn't have their "A" game.

Senior forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax,Va./Fairfax) had 22 points and junior guard Noelle Alicea (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) hit a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining as the Lady Royals held off Moravian, 67-64, on Wednesday night in the Long Center.

With the victory, Scranton (19-2, 11-1 Landmark) clinched a playoff berth and maintained its 1.5-game lead in the Landmark Conference over Susquehanna.

Scranton's performance at the free throw line, capped by Alicea's clutch shots at the end, were a big reason for the victory, as the Lady Royals had the second-best free throw shooting game in program history for games with at least 15 made free throws. They were 23-for-24 (95.8 percent) from the line, including a perfect 12-for-12 in the second half. The only game in team history with a higher free throw percentage came on Feb. 28, 2004, when they went 15-for-15 in a 70-69 victory over King's in the Freedom Conference championship game.

The 13th-ranked Lady Royals led by eight with just 2:29 to play, but had to hold off Moravian (10-10, 6-5 Landmark) over a frantic final two minutes. The Greyhounds used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 65-64 with 32 seconds to play on a baseline jumper by junior guard Emily MacDonnell (Springfield, N.J./Jonathan Dayton).

Moravian then forced a turnover on the inbounds play and found itself with possession with 26 seconds to play and a chance to take the lead. But a contested 3-pointer was off the mark and Alicea corralled the rebound and was fouled. She calmly hit both ends of the one-and-one, and a Moravian 3-pointer just before the final horn that would've forced overtime was well off the mark.

Alicea finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two turnovers while not committing a turnover in 30 minutes. Sophomore forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) had her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.

Mesaris, who finished the night 10-for-10 from the free throw line, had 16 first-half points as Scranton overcame a six-point deficit with 7:28 on the clock by going on a 13-2 run that was sparked by a 3-pointer from Alicea.

Scranton finished the night going 20-for-59 (33.9 percent) from the field, including 4-for-16 from 3-point range. Senior guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), who finished with eight points, had two key second-half 3-pointers.

The Lady Royals won the rebounding battle, 41-39, as Alicea and senior guard Lindsay Fluehr (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) had six each and DiSciascio added five. The Lady Royals overcame 17 turnovers by forcing Moravian into 16 miscues.

Prior to tip-off, Fluehr and Mesaris were honored as co-recipients of the Dr. Harold Davis Award, which is presented annually to the Lady Royals' most valuable senior.

The Greyhounds were led by sophomore guard Morgan Calabrese (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth), who had 19 points, and junior forward Alesha Marcks (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) added 18, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Moravian was 23-for-61 (37.7 percent) from the field, including 3-for-13 from 3-point range, and hit 15 of 20 free throws.

Scranton will begin a three-game road trip when they visit Juniata on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. in Huntingdon, Pa.

--LADY ROYALS--