ANNVILLE, Pa. – The University of Scranton women's basketball team found itself in an odd position on Tuesday night – trailing at halftime. But the third-ranked Lady Royals fought back behind senior center Alexix Roman (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) and then used a huge fourth-quarter run to put away Lebanon Valley for a 63-52 victory at Sorrentino Gymnasium.

Roman finished the night with a game-high 22 points, including 14 in the third quarter when Scranton (11-0) turned a six-point halftime deficit into just a 39-38 hole entering the fourth quarter. The Lady Royals then opened the final stanza with a 15-1 run to take control and push their regular season winning streak to 33. Their last regular season loss came nearly two years ago – Jan. 17, 2015, at Catholic.

Sophomore guard Bridgette Mann (Canadensis, Pa./Wallenpaupack) added 12 and senior forward Sarah Payonk (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and a steal. Roman has now scored at least 22 points in three of the past four games.

Scranton also got key contributions off the bench from sophomore guard Christina Peden (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) and freshman forward Sofia Recupero (Whitestone, N.Y./St. Francis Prep). Peden finished with a career-high nine points, including two 3-pointers, and added an assist, a rebound and a steal. Recupero had four points, two rebounds and an assist in just seven minutes.

The Lady Royals trailed at halftime, 27-21, after shooting just 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from the field and committing 12 turnovers. But they rallied in the third quarter behind Roman, who scored 14 of the team's 17 points (the other three came on a 3-pointer by Mann).

Then, they took full control with the big fourth quarter, which featured a pair of 3-pointers and three free throws from Peden, a 3-pointer and a three-point play from Mann, and five points from Payonk. Scranton went 10-for-13 from the free throw line in the final quarter and hit all three of their attempts from beyond the arc.

For the game, Scranton shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53), including five of 10 from 3-point range. The Lady Royals won the rebounding battle, 39-36, and had a 15-7 edge in bench points.

Lebanon Valley (5-6) finished 21-for-57 (36.8 percent) from the field, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. The Dutchmen committed 15 turnovers and had just eight assists while making 10 of 18 free throw attempts.

Scranton will now be off for the holidays and will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when the Lady Royals travel to Abington, Pa. to take on Penn State-Abington at 6 p.m.

--ROYALS--