WILKES-BARRE, Pa.—Senior guard Allison Matt (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) connected on 13 of 17 free throw attempts to finish with a game-high 19 points to lead The University of Scranton to a 78-57 victory over King’s College in the Freedom Conference opener for both teams Wednesday evening at Scandlon Gymnasium.
Senior guard Taryn Mellody (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O’Hara) scored 14 of her season-high 16 points in the second-half as the 5th-ranked Lady Royals broke away from a 10-point halftime lead to win their second straight game and improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. Scranton, which shot 54.8 percent from the field in the second-half (17 of 31), also received 10 points and seven rebounds from junior forward Michelle Fabio (Brick, N.J./Saint Rose) and 10 points and six rebounds from senior center Tiffaney Williams (Scranton, Pa./Scranton).
King’s, which suffered its second straight loss after opening the season 4-0, was led by junior guard Jenna Palumbo (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) with 15 points, junior center Andrea Hochstuhl (Landenberg, Pa./St. Mark’s-Del.) added 13 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, and sophomore guard Kaitlyn Fiorino (North Brunswick, N.J./Immaculata) contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
The game was tied six times in the first-half before Lady Royal junior guard Julie Brophy (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) drained a 3-pointer and Matt added three free throws during a 10-0 run to give Scranton its first significant lead, 34-24. After the Lady Monarchs, now 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference, cut the margin to eight on two free throws by Palumbo, Matt pushed the lead back up to 10 with a field goal just before the halftime buzzer sounded, 36-26. Matt finished with 13 points in the first-half and Fabio got the Lady Royals rolling early with eight points before picking up two quick fouls that forced her to the bench.
King’s did manage to cut the lead under double-digits early in the second-half on two free throws by Hochstuhl, but Mellody buried a 3-pointer to give Scranton a 39-26 lead with 18:58 left. The Lady Royals maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Mellody’s 16 points moved her ahead of Denise Capoocia (1,419 points, 1978-1981) for fourth-place on Scranton’s all-time list. Mellody now has 1,422 career points.
The Lady Royals, who also received a solid seven-point, six-rebound from junior forward Kathleen Daly (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) off the bench, have now won 30 straight Freedom Conference games and haven’t lost since a 70-65 loss against King’s on February 17, 2004, at Scandlon Gymnasiusm.
Scranton will return to Freedom Conference action this Saturday, December 2, against the Devils of FDU-Florham beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Long Center.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (3-1/1-0 Freedom) Matt, Allison 3-11 13-17 19; Mellody, Taryn 7-15 0-0 16; Williams, Tiffaney 5-7 0-1 10; Fabio, Michelle 5-6 0-0 10; Daly, Kathleen 3-6 1-1 7; Healy, Marisa 3-5 0-0 6; Remington, Stephanie 2-5 0-0 5; Brophy, Julie 1-4 0-0 3; Waiters, Tammy 1-1 0-0 2; Davis, Claire 0-1 0-0 0; Thran, Casey 0-5 0-0 0; Mooney, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-67 14-19 78. KING'S COLLEGE (4-2/0-1 Freedom) Jenna Palumbo 4-11 4-6 15; Andrea Hochstuhl 2-9 9-10 13; Kaitlyn Fiorino 5-15 0-0 11; Brittany Atzert 3-5 0-0 6; Jessica Paettie 1-2 0-0 3; Lauren Kendra 1-6 1-2 3; Sarah Darling 0-0 2-2 2; Casey Heitman 1-4 0-0 2; Kaitlyn Malshefski 0-2 2-2 2; Krystina Durako 0-0 0-0 0; Andrea Carroll 0-1 0-0 0; Lauren Mazzola 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-55 18-22 57. The University of Scranton.... 36 42 - 78 King's College................ 26 31 - 57 3-point goals-The University of Scranton 4-16 (Mellody, Taryn 2-5; Brophy, Julie 1-2; Remington, Stephanie 1-3; Davis, Claire 0-1; Thran, Casey 0-1; Mooney, Ryan 0-1; Matt, Allison 0-3), King's College 5-20 (Jenna Palumbo 3-8; Jessica Paettie 1-2; Kaitlyn Fiorino 1-5; Lauren Kendra 0-1; Casey Heitman 0-2; Andrea Carroll 0-1; Brittany Atzert 0-1). Fouled out—The University of Scranton-None, King's College-None. Rebounds-The University of Scranton 38 (Fabio, Michelle 7), King's College 44 (Andrea Hochstuhl 11).Assists-The University of Scranton 22 (Matt, Allison 5), King's College 11 (Lauren Kendra 5). Total fouls-The University of Scranton 19, King's College 17. A-750