Senior guard Taryn Mellody (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O’Hara) scored a season-high 17 points and senior center Tiffaney Williams (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) added 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks to lead The University of Scranton past FDU-Florham, 64-46, in Freedom Conference action Saturday at the Long Center.
Senior forward Tammy Waiters (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) came off the bench to contribute nine points in 15 minutes of action and junior forward Michelle Fabio (Brick, N.J./Saint Rose) had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists as the 5th-ranked Lady Royals won their third straight game to improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Freedom Conference. Sophomore guard Emily Cerankowski (Easton, Pa./Notre Dame) led the Devils, now 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league play, with 16 points.
Mellody scored 15 points in the first-half as Scranton built up a 12-point advantage by intermission It wasn’t as easy as it appeared, as FDU-Florham battled back from an early 15-4 deficit and trailed by only four, 17-13, with 6:14 left in the first-half. The Lady Royals answered with a 15-8 spurt to take a 32-21 lead at intermission.
Fabio and Williams took over in the second-half by combining for 11 points during a 13-6 run in the opening six minutes of the second-half as the Lady Royals’ lead mushroomed to 18, 45-27. Scranton’s lead was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
After shooting a sizzling 59.1 percent in the first-half (13 of 22), the Lady Royals cooled off considerably in the second-half by shooting 32.1 percent (9 of 28) to finish 44.0 percent for the game. Both teams also had trouble hanging on to the basketball and combined for 40 turnovers.
After scoring just 24 points in her first three games, Mellody, a two-time first-team all-American, has eclipsed her season-high in each of her last two games.
The Lady Royals will return to action this Wednesday, December 6, against the Lady Greyhounds of Moravian College at 7:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
FDU-FLORHAM (1-5/0-2 Freedom) Emily Cerankowski 6-12 4-4 16; Kim Molaskey 2-3 2-2 6; Kate Daly 2-7 0-0 5; Jessie Chalmers 2-6 0-2 5; Maureen Kehoe 1-7 3-4 5; Danielle Michlovsky 2-7 0-0 4; Lara Hirshenson 1-2 0-0 3; Shannon Smith 1-1 0-0 2; Jessica Killeen 0-2 0-0 0; Courtney Young 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 9-12 46. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (4-1/2-0 Freedom) Mellody, Taryn 8-16 0-0 17; Williams, Tiffaney 5-6 0-0 10; Waiters, Tammy 2-3 5-6 9; Fabio, Michelle 2-2 4-6 8; Remington, Stephanie 2-5 0-0 6; Matt, Allison 2-3 1-2 5; Brophy, Julie 0-6 4-4 4; Mooney, Ryan 1-3 0-2 3; Daly, Kathleen 0-0 2-2 2; Healy, Marisa 0-2 0-0 0; Davis, Claire 0-2 0-0 0; Thran, Casey 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 22-50 16-24 64. FDU-Florham................... 21 25 - 46 The University of Scranton.... 32 32 - 64 3-point goals-FDU-Florham 3-6 (Kate Daly 1-3; Jessie Chalmers 1-1; Lara Hirshenson 1-1; Emily Cerankowski 0-1), The University of Scranton 4-17 (Remington, Stephanie 2-4; Mooney, Ryan 1-2; Mellody, Taryn 1-6; Brophy, Julie 0-2; Davis, Claire 0-2; Thran, Casey 0-1). Fouled out--FDU-Florham-Danielle Michlovsky, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-FDU-Florham 26 (Shannon Smith 4), The University of Scranton 37 (Williams, Tiffaney 7; Fabio, Michelle 7). Assists-FDU-Florham 12 (Kate Daly 8), The University of Scranton 17 (Remington, Stephanie 4). Total fouls-FDU-Florham 16, The University of Scranton 15. A-400