ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The University of Rochester avenged last season’s NCAA Sweet 16 loss to The University of Scranton in convincing fashion in the championship game of the Resler Tournament Saturday evening.
The Yellow Jackets held the top-ranked Lady Royals to just 19 points in the second-half and broke open a close game down the stretch en route to a 69-51 victory. All-tournament selection Danielle Muller led Rochester, now 2-0, with 17 points and tournament MVP Alex Porter added 13 points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds. The Yellow Jackets shot 47.2 percent from the field in the second-half to overcome a 32-25 halftime deficit and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds en route to a 48-39 advantage on the glass.
Senior guard and all-tournament selection Allison Matt led Scranton, now 1-1, with a game-high 19 points and junior guard Stephanie Remington came off the bench to connect on all seven of her field goal attempts to finish with 16 points. Remington was also named to the all-tournament team.
Porter scored four points and Mueller canned a three-pointer to spark a 9-2 run in the opening three minutes of the second-half to forge a 34-34 tie. The lead changes hands four times before the Yellow Jackets took the lead for good on a lay-up by Jessica Waddell, who came off the bench to finish with eight points and five rebounds, with 9:17 left.
The Lady Royals trailed 48-47 with 7:22 remaining before Mueller and Megan Krebbeks combined for eight points during a 10-0 run over the next two minutes as Rochester took its first significant lead, 58-47. Scranton’s only points down the stretch were two free throws by Matt with 4:05 remaining and a basket by Remington at the 1:29 mark.
For the game, the Lady Royals shot just 28.8 percent from the field, including a 7-for-31 effort (22.6 percent) in the second-half, and were guilty of 20 turnovers. Two-time first-team all-American Taryn Mellody was held to two points, her lowest point output since scoring two points in a 70-65 loss to King’s College at the Scandlon Gymnasium on February 17, 2004.
Rochester now leads the all-time series with Scranton, 3-1.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (1-1) Matt, Allison 4-16 10-10 19; Remington, Stephanie 7-7 0-0 16; Daly, Kathleen 2-5 0-0 4; Fabio, Michelle 1-6 2-2 4; Williams, Tiffaney 2-5 0-0 4; Thran, Casey 1-7 0-0 2; Mellody, Taryn 0-8 2-2 2; Waiters, Tammy 0-2 0-0 0; Healy, Marisa 0-2 0-0 0; Brophy, Julie 0-1 0-1 0; Mooney, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-59 14-15 51. ROCHESTER (2-0) Muller, Danielle 6-17 3-3 17; Krebbeks, Megan 6-8 2-4 14; Porter, Alex 5-13 3-7 13; Waddell, Jessica 3-7 2-2 8; Marriott, Julie 4-8 0-2 8; Baroody, Helen 2-4 0-0 4; McNelis, Johanna 1-1 0-0 3; Bango, Emily 0-5 2-2 2; Lyons, Emily 0-3 0-0 0; Fisher, Marlena 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-66 12-20 69. The University of Scranton............. 32 19 - 51 Rochester..................... 25 44 - 69 3-point goals-Univ. of Scranton 3-18 (Remington, Stephanie 2-2; Matt, Allison 1-6; Thran, Casey 0-3; Mellody, Taryn 0-6; Waiters, Tammy 0-1), Rochester 3-11 (Muller, Danielle 2-4; McNelis, Johanna 1-1; Baroody, Helen 0-2; Bango, Emily 0-4). Fouled out--Univ. of Scranton-None, Rochester-None. Rebounds-Univ. of Scranton 39 (Daly, Kathleen 6; Mellody, Taryn 6), Rochester 48 (Porter, Alex 20). Assists-Univ. of Scranton 11 (Matt, Allison 3), Rochester 19 (Bango, Emily 7). Total fouls-Univ. of Scranton 20, Rochester 18. A-450