The Lady Royals, ranked 6th nationally by D3hoops.com and 7th by WBCA/ESPN/USA Today, also received 15 points from senior guard Allison Matt (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) and 13 points from senior center Tiffaney Williams (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) for their seventh straight victory to improve to 22-2 overall and 13-0 in league play.
Lycoming, which shot only 26.4 percent from the field in falling to 7-17 overall and 2-11 in the Freedom Conference, was led by sophomore forward Andrea Cooper (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) and freshman guard Gina Manbeck (Shenandoah Valley, Pa./Shenandoah Valley) with seven points apiece.
Trailing 10-9 at the halfway mark of the first-half, Mellody took over by scoring 11 points as Scranton ended the first-half on a 26-8 run to take a 35-18 lead by intermission. Matt added nine points as the Lady Royals shot 50 percent from the field while limiting the Warriors to 25.9 percent (7 of 27) shooting from the field. Scranton also out-rebounded Lycoming, 21-14, in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Lady Royals put the game out of reach by opening the second-half with a 19-3 spurt to take a comfortable 33-point lead, 54-21, with 12:19 remaining. The closest the Warriors got the rest of the way was 25 points.
Junior forward Kathleen Daly (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) came off the bench and gave Scranton a big lift with six points, a game-high seven rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes of action.
Mellody’s 18-point performance gives her 1,802 points for her career, which is third on the Scranton all-time list. She is 64 points shy of moving ahead of Kelly Halpin (1,865 points, 1996-2000) for second-place. By virtue of her 15-point effort, Matt moved ahead of Kate Dougherty (1,170 points, 1995-1999) for 13th-place on the Lady Royals’ all-time list. Matt now has 1,181 career points.
Scranton has now held two of its last three opponents under 40 points and four overall this year.
The Lady Royals will close out their regular-season this Saturday, February 17, against the Lady Bulldogs of DeSales University in Freedom Conference action at Billera Hall in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Earlier this year, Scranton held off a late rally to defeat DeSales, 69-68, on Saturday, January 20, at the Long Center.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (22-2/13-0 Freedom) Mellody, Taryn 8-14 0-0 18; Matt, Allison 6-10 2-2 15; Williams, Tiffaney 4-8 5-8 13; Daly, Kathleen 3-4 0-0 6; Remington, Stephanie 3-8 0-0 6; Thran, Casey 1-3 1-2 3; Davis, Claire 0-0 2-2 2; Fabio, Michelle 1-3 0-0 2; Waiters, Tammy 0-1 0-0 0; Healy, Marisa 0-0 0-0 0; Brophy, Julie 0-5 0-0 0; Mooney, Ryan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 10-14 65. LYCOMING COLLEGE (7-17/2-11 Freedom) Gina Manbeck 2-5 2-2 7; Andrea Cooper 3-10 1-1 7; Rebecca Leid 2-4 1-1 6; Allison Palubinsky 2-3 0-0 4; Renee Freeden 1-4 1-2 3; Jessica Zerbee 1-5 0-0 3; Amanda Clouse 0-2 2-2 2; Amanda Hart 1-4 0-0 2; Alicia Engler 1-6 0-0 2; Michelle Wisla 1-3 0-0 2; Jessica Nabholz 0-1 1-2 1; Jamie Buriak 0-1 0-0 0; Brittany Knopp 0-3 0-0 0; Allison Mock 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 8-10 39. The University of Scranton.... 35 30 - 65 Lycoming College.............. 18 21 - 39 3-point goals-The University of Scranton 3-17 (Mellody, Taryn 2-7; Matt, Allison 1-3; Remington, Stephanie 0-2; Thran, Casey 0-1; Brophy, Julie 0-4), Lycoming College Women 3-19 (Jessica Zerbee 1-3; Rebecca Leid 1-1; Gina Manbeck 1-1; Amanda Clouse 0-2; Amanda Hart 0-2; Alicia Engler 0-3; Michelle Wisla 0-1; Brittany Knopp 0-1; Allison Mock 0-2; Andrea Cooper 0-3). Fouled out--The University of Scranton-None, Lycoming College Women-None. Rebounds-The University of Scranton 44 (Daly, Kathleen 7), Lycoming College Women 30 (Rebecca Leid 4; Jessica Zerbee 4). Assists-The University of Scranton 13 (Waiters, Tammy 3; Fabio, Michelle 3), Lycoming College Women 5 (Andrea Cooper 2). Total fouls-The University of Scranton 11, Lycoming College Women 10. A-100