News Release

SCRANTON, Pa. — Senior forward Casey Thran (Dalton, Pa./Abington Heights) came off the bench to connect on five of seven shots from the field to finish with a game-high 14 points as The University of Scranton extended its winning streak to 11 with a 77-48 victory over Lycoming College in Freedom Conference action Wednesday evening at the Long Center.

Senior guard Taryn Mellody (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O’Hara) added 11 points and five rebounds as the Lady Royals, ranked 4th by D3hoops.com and 5th by ESPN/WBCA/USA Today, improved to 12-1 overall and 3-0 in the Freedom Conference. Sophomore forward Andrea Cooper (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) led Lycoming, now 5-8 overall and 0-3 in league play, with 11 points.

Behind four points each by senior center Tiffaney Williams (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) and senior forward Tammy Waiters (Scranton, Pa./Scranton), the Lady Royals jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening six minutes of the first-half. Thran then took over, scoring 10 points and coming up with two steals, a rebound and an assist as Scranton extended its lead to 32-17 by intermission. The Lady Royals shot 57.7 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes on play while the Warriors connected on just 7 of 33 attempts (21.2 percent).

Mellody scored five points and senior guard Allison Matt (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) added four during a 9-2 rally in the opening four minutes of the second-half as Scranton pushed its lead to 22, 41-19. The closest the Warriors would get the rest of the way was 16 points, 52-36, with 10:17 remaining. Scranton regained the momentum from that point on and eventually built up a 30-point cushion in the closing minutes.

Scranton continued its torrid shooting in the second-half by making 18 of 31 field goal attempts (58.1 percent) to finish 57.9 percent for the game (33 of 57). Freshman guard Ryan Mooney (Spring City, Pa./Piux X), making her third start of the season, finished with nine points, four assists and two rebounds and Waiters and Williams combined for 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.

Thran tied her previous career-high of 14 points in a 76-56 victory over King’s College on February 1, 2006, at the Scandlon Gymnasium in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The Lady Royals will take on future Landmark Conference and current Freedom Conference member Drew University this Saturday, January 13, in Madison, New Jersey, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

LYCOMING (5-8/0-3 Freedom)
Andrea Cooper 4-12 2-4 11; Brittany Knopp 4-10 0-0 9; Rebecca Leid 2-5 2-2 6; Allison Palubinsky 2-4 2-3 6; Alicia Engler 2-7 0-0 5; Jessica Nabholz 2-7 1-2 5; Amanda Hart 2-7 0-0 4; Gina Manbeck 1-3 0-0 2; Jamie Buriak 0-0 0-0 0; Renee Freeden 0-2 0-0 0; Allison Mock 0-1 0-0 0; Michelle Wisla 0-3
0-0 0; Jessica Zerbee 0-1 0-0 0; Amanda Clouse 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-64 7-11 48.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (12-1/3-0 Freedom)
Thran, Casey 5-7 3-4 14; Mellody, Taryn 4-13 3-4 11; Mooney, Ryan 4-4 0-0 9; Daly, Kathleen 3-4 2-3 8; Williams, Tiffaney 4-7 0-2 8; Waiters, Tammy 4-5 0-0 8; Fabio, Michelle 3-5 0-0 6; Matt, Allison 3-4 0-0 6; Remington, Stephanie 2-2 0-0 5; Healy, Marisa 1-1 0-0 2; Davis, Claire 0-1 0-0 0; Brophy, Julie 0-4 0-0 0. 
Totals 33-57 8-13 77. 

Lycoming......................   17   31  -   48
The University of Scranton....   32   45  -   77

3-point goals-Lycoming 3-16 (Brittany Knopp 1-3; Alicia Engler 1-4; Andrea Cooper 1-2; Jessica Nabholz 0-2; Allison Mock 0-1; Jessica Zerbee 0-1; Amanda Clouse 0-1; Allison Palubinsky 0-1; Rebecca Leid 0-1), The University of Scranton 3-10 (Mooney, Ryan 1-1; Remington, Stephanie 1-1; Thran, Casey 1-1; Davis, Claire 0-1; Brophy, Julie 0-2; Mellody, Taryn 0-4). Fouled out--Lycoming-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Lycoming 35 (Amanda Hart 8), The University of Scranton 39 (Williams, Tiffaney 8). Assists-Lycoming 11 (Andrea Cooper 2; Jessica Nabholz 2), The University of Scranton 28 (Daly, Kathleen 5). Total fouls-Lycoming 11, The University of Scranton 10. A-350