ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Freshman Bridget Monaghan (Florham Park, N.J./Morristown-Beard) scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and the No. 15 University of Scranton women's basketball team (16-3, 6-2 Landmark) pulled away from Elizabethtown in the second half in a 61-48 win over the Blue Jays (10-8, 6-2 Landmark) on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Gymnasium in Elizabethtown.

This marks the fourth straight win for the Lady Royals who pulled into a tie for second place in the Landmark Conference standings. Catholic currently leads the conference with a 7-1 record in league play.

Monaghan went 7-of-9 from the field including a trio of three-pointers en route to her career-high 21 points. Senior Sofia Recupero (Whitestone, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep) added 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Lady Royals, while classmate Makenzie Mason (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) tallied 11 points of her own.

The 21 points for Monaghan surpass her previous career-best mark of 15 that had been set on Jan. 22 versus Susquehanna.

Angie Hawkins and Lydia Lawson had 16 points apiece to pace the Blue Jays and leading scorer Veronica Christ was held to 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting.

As a whole, the Lady Royals limited Elizabethtown to 29.1% shooting (16-of-55) from the floor on the afternoon.

Scranton came storming out of the gate in this one as Mason and Monaghan combined to score the first 10 points of the game. The Blue Jays battled back to cut the lead to four at 14-10, but a late jumper from senior Lily Warhaftig (Harlem, N.Y./Poly Prep) gave the Lady Royals a 16-11 lead after one. Following a pair of free throws from Lawson that cut the lead to 18-14, Scranton answered with a 7-0 run capped by a Monaghan jumper that made it 25-14 with 5:27 remaining in the first half. Monaghan buried a three in the late stages of the quarter to give the visitors a 29-22 edge heading into the locker room.

Head coach Nick DiPillo's squad led 33-25 with eight minutes left in the third quarter before senior Emily Sheehan (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) hit a three to ignite a 21-4 run that went into the fourth quarter. Monaghan's floater in the lane extended the lead to as many as 25 at 54-29 with 8:49 left. The Blue Jays were unable to get any closer than 13 the rest of the way.

The Lady Royals shot 37.5% (21-of-56) from the field and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from deep to go along with a 12-of-15 performance (80.0%) at the free throw line. Scranton held a commanding 45-32 edge in the rebounding battled led by Recupero's 11 boards and six apiece from Mason, Monaghan and Warhaftig.

The University of Scranton women's basketball team returns to action at Susquehanna on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.