Trailing 25-19 with 19:09 remaining, the Crusaders (6-1 overall) reeled off 22 unanswered points and held the Lady Colonels (3-5 overall) without a field goal for 14 minutes, 46 seconds to improve to 5-0 at home this season.
Ruth Williamson led the Crusaders with 11 points off the bench while Crystal Schneck added 10 points and four rebounds for Susquehanna, which held Wilkes to 28.6 percent (14-for-49) shooting from the field for the game.
Katie Cappelloni led the Lady Colonels with 13 points and nine rebounds, but was the only player to score in double figures as Wilkes committed 24 turnovers and shot 4-for-10 from the foul line.
Nikki Smith also contributed off the Crusader bench with nine points, five rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes of action while Courtney Thibeault established a career high with nine rebounds to lead the team.
Susquehanna led 10-2 just four minutes into the contest, but a pair of three-pointers from Lacey Andresen and two from Cappelloni helped rally Wilkes to a 23-19 lead at halftime. Cappelloni led all players with 10 points in the first half while no Crusader had more than four points at intermission.
The Lady Colonels took their largest lead of the game at 25-19 with 19:09 left following a steal and layup by Randi Corbo, but the Crusaders climbed back into a tie on three-point plays by Jen Clark and Williamson, and went ahead for good at 26-25 on a foul shot by Thibeault with 12:15 left.
Smith hit back-to-back layup and Val Houseal added two free throws to cap the run and give Susquehanna a 41-25 lead with 7:12 left, but Wilkes pulled within 44-35 with 3:58 left on the second of back-to-back three-pointers from Ashley Makarczyk.
The Crusaders put the game away at the foul line as Williamson hit two free throws and Schneck added four foul shots in the final two minutes. In all, Susquehanna shot 18-for-24 from the foul line overall including 17-for-22 in the second half.
Houseal finished with six points for the Crusaders while Sarah Jane Kalejta scored just two points but added five rebounds, a game-high four assists and four steals in 31 minutes of action.
SUSQUEHANNA 56, WILKES 39 WILKES (3-5) Katie Cappelloni 4-15 3-4 13; Randi Corbo 3-11 1-3 8; Ashley Makarczyk 2-5 0-0 6; Lacey Andresen 2-7 0-0 6; Karyn Perestam 2-6 0-0 4; Kelly Patchell 1-1 0-2 2; Khadija Bates 0-3 0-0 0; Nicole Quick 0-1 0-0 0; Emilee Strubeck 0-0 0-0 0; Chelsey Gosse 0-0 0-1 0; Danya Dowd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-49 4-10 39. SUSQUEHANNA (6-1) Ruth Williamson 4-6 3-3 11; Crystal Schneck 3-4 4-6 10; Nikki Smith 4-8 1-2 9; Val Houseal 2-5 2-2 6; Jen Clark 2-8 2-3 6; Bri McNallen 2-7 0-0 4; Samantha Jansson 0-0 3-4 3; Leigh Henderson 1-1 0-0 2; Sarah Jane Kalejta 0-4 2-2 2; Meg Loughran 1-2 0-0 2; Courtney Thibeault 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 19-50 18-24 56. Wilkes........................ 23 16 - 39 Susquehanna................... 19 37 - 56 3-point goals-Wilkes 7-18 (Ashley Makarczyk 2-4; Lacey Andresen 2-4; Katie Cappelloni 2-7; Randi Corbo 1-3), Susquehanna 0-8 (Ruth Williamson 0-1; Nikki Smith 0-3; Jen Clark 0-1; Bri McNallen 0-1; Sarah Jane Kalejta 0-1; Courtney Thibeault 0-1). Fouled out--Wilkes-Khadija Bates; Lacey Andresen, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds-Wilkes 35 (Katie Cappelloni 9), Susquehanna 38 (Courtney Thibeault 9). Assists-Wilkes 6 (Randi Corbo 3), Susquehanna 13 (Sarah Jane Kalejta 4). Total fouls-Wilkes 24, Susquehanna 13. A-80