WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Sophomore center Sofia Recupero (Whitestone, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points to lead The University of Scranton women's basketball team to a 64-52 victory over King's College in the team's season opener in the Cross-County Challenge at Wilkes University.
Scranton (1-0) overcame a sluggish start by outscoring King's (0-1) by 19 points over the final three quarters. Junior guard Bridgette Mann (Canadenis, Pa./Wallenpaupack) was the only other Lady Royal to score in double figures, finishing with 10.
King's jumped out to a 19-12 lead after one quarter, but Scranton answered with a big second quarter, led by six points from Recupero, to take a 29-28 lead at halftime. Recupero then scored 13 second-half points as the Lady Royals slowly pulled away for the victory.
Recupero finished the night 9-for-13 from the field with seven rebounds. She also hit 3 of 5 from the free throw line. Mann added six rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win, and junior guard Julia Gantz (Havertown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) added nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophomore forward Makenzie Mason (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) added eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Scranton finished the night shooting 39.6 percent (19-for-48) from the field, including 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from 3-point range. The Lady Royals hit 20 of 29 free throws (69 percent) and held a 34-29 rebounding edge on the Lady Monarchs. Scranton overcame 15 turnovers of its own by forcing 18 on the defensive end.
The Lady Royals return to action on Saturday when they face Wilkes at 4 p.m. in the second day of the Cross-County Challenge at Wilkes.
--ROYALS--