SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Junior guard Emily Sheehan (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) scored a team-best 13 points to lead a balanced attacked, as The University of Scranton women's basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter to take a 58-45 win at Susquehanna in Landmark Conference action on Wednesday night.
The win, which improved the third-ranked Lady Royals' record to 16-0 overall and 5-0 in the Landmark Conference, was also the 100th for head coach Trevor Woodruff since he took over the Scranton program before the 2015-16.
Woodruff hits the 100 win mark in just 107 total games as head coach, as his record now sits at 100-7 overall. He's also moved his record to 37-1 in true road games since taking over as head coach, with his lone loss coming early last season at Juniata.
In the victory on Monday, the Lady Royals got off to a slow start, as the host Riverhawks opened a six-point lead on Scranton in the first five minutes of regulation at 10-4. This marked the first time since the third quarter of the Lady Royals' win over Capitol on Dec. 16 that Scranton had trailed in a game, as well.
The Susquehanna lead held through the rest of the quarter, as the Riverhawks went into the second quarter up 12-10 on the Lady Royals. Scranton, however, found their footing in the second period, as a 12-4 run by the Lady Royals opened up a 22-16 lead for the visitors with 5:19 left in the first half.
The final five minutes of the second quarter saw both teams defenses take over, as neither team scored over that time frame, leaving Scranton in the lead at 22-16 entering intermission.
To start the second half, Susquehanna cut the Scranton lead down to two points after scoring back-to-back buckets (22-20). But, despite the Riverhawks making a few runs at the Lady Royals lead, they were never able to take it throughout the third quarter.
Up by four late in the period (33-29), sophomore Taylor Rodriguez (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) nailed a three with three seconds left to give Scranton a 36-29 lead entering the final quarter.
The three by Rodriguez seemed to finally ignite the Lady Royals offense, as Scranton scored the first five points on the fourth quarter to give themselves their first double-digit lead of the night at 41-29.
The closest the Riverhawks got to the Scranton lead the rest of the game was just nine points on two separate occasions, as the Lady Royals took the lead for good at 51-38 with four minutes left after a lay-in by Sheehan.
Outscoring Susquehanna, 22-16, in the final quarter, the Lady Royals went on to earn a tough double-digit victory on the road, their 12th straight such win overall, and the 15th such win on the year.
Overall, Sheehan led the way with her 13 point effort on the game, as fellow junior Makenzie Mason (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) added 10 points and seven rebounds in the victory. Rodriguez had nine points, while freshman Hannah Kowalski (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) and sophomore Ava Gammo (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) had eight points, apiece.
Rounding out the top performers on the game was junior Sofia Recupero (Whitestone, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep), who had seven points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
On defense, it was another strong night for Scranton, as they held an opponent to under 50 points for the sixth time in their last seven outings. The Lady Royals, who forced 14 turnovers, held the Riverhawks to 34.7 percent shooting in the win, and outrebounded Susquehanna by a 31-26 margin.
The University of Scranton women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, as they travel to Juniata for another Landmark Conference road game. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
--LADY ROYALS--