BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Freshman guard Emily Shurina (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) came off the bench and scored a game-high 16 points, as The University of Scranton women's basketball team rolled past host Moravian, 72-51, in Landmark Conference action on Wednesday night.
With the win, Scranton (who is in a tie for eighth in the WBCA Coaches Top 25 and 12th in the D3Hoops.com Top 25) improved to 20-2 overall and 9-2 in the Landmark Conference. The Lady Royals, who remained in solo possession of first place in the Landmark standings with the win, also clinched their 33rd 20-win season in program history, as well.
Moravian fell to 14-8 and 6-5 in the Landmark with the defeat.
In the win, Scranton opened a slim lead in the first quarter, going up, 14-11, on Moravian after the first 10 minutes of regulation. In the second, the Lady Royals began the quarter on a 7-0 run to open their first double-digit lead of the night at 21-11 with 7:50 to go in the first half.
For the rest of the quarter, Moravian tried to play catch-up on Scranton, eventually slicing what was a 12-point Lady Royals lead (31-19) down to 31-25 with 27 seconds left. But, the Lady Royals ended the half strong, as sophomore Taylor Rodriguez (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) drained a three with six second left to give Scranton a 34-25 lead entering intermission.
The third quarter saw Scranton come out racing to start, as the Lady Royals went on to open their biggest lead of the game at 50-34 with 3:16 to go in the period after opening the period on a 16-9 run.
The 16-point deficit proved to be insurmountable for Moravian to come close to the rest of the night, as Scranton ended the third period on a 9-2 run to open a 59-36 lead on the Greyhounds entering the final period.
In the fourth, the Lady Royals coasted, as they finished off a regular season sweep of Moravian with the 21-point victory, Scranton's 19 by double-figures on the 2018-19 season to date.
Overall, Shurina went into double-figures off the bench for the second straight contest, as she shot 5-of-6 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range in her 16-point night. Elsewhere, the Lady Royals' only other double-digit scorer on the night was junior Makenzie Mason (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West), who finished with 11 points.
Meanwhile, junior Sofia Recupero (Whitestone, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep) chipped in with nine points and three assists and Rodriguez rounded out the top performers on the night with six points and a team-best six rebounds, to go along with three assists, as well.
On defense, it was another strong outing for Scranton, as they held Moravian to just 29.5 percent shooting from the floor. In the second half alone, the Lady Royals held the Greyhounds to 25 percent shooting (8-of-32), as Scranton - who also forced 17 turnovers - pulled away in the third quarter after outscoring Moravian, 25-11.
The University of Scranton women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, as the Lady Royals host Juniata. The game, which will serve as the program's Senior Day, tips-off at 1 p.m. inside the John Long Center.
--LADY ROYALS--