SCRANTON, Pa.—Senior guard Kate Pierangeli (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) scored 16 points, pulled down eight rebounds and handed out six assists as The University of Scranton held off a second-half rally to defeat Gwynedd Mercy College, 60-58, in a second round game of the 2004 NCAA Division III championships Saturday evening at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
The 3rd-ranked Lady Royals, now 26-2, built up a 13-point second half lead before the Griffins, who ended their season with a 26-4 record, battled back and had an opportunity to tie or win the game on their final possession, but a 12-foot jump shot by senior guard Tracy Kent (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) in the closing seconds was short of the mark. Senior forward Kathy Snell (Lower Gywnedd, Pa./Wissachickon) led Gwynedd Mercy with 20 points and 13 rebounds—both game highs—and junior forward Candice Ober (Boothwyn, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) came off the bench to contribute 13 points and six rebounds.
Freshman forward Taryn Mellody (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O’Hara) had 11 points and seven rebounds and senior guard Katie Dougherty (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) added 10 points for Scranton, which ended the first half on a 18-9 run to break a 14-14 tie and take a 32-23 lead at halftime. Pierangeli, junior center Eileen Webster (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) and Mellody combined for 21 first half points to offset a 13-point, 8-rebound effort by Snell. The Griffins were guilty of 14 first half turnovers, but used a 22-16 rebounding advantage to stay in contention.
Pierangeli and Dougherty combined for 10 points as the Lady Royals used a 14-10 run in the opening eight minutes of the second half to build up a 46-33 lead. Ober then took over the game for Gwynedd Mercy by scoring 10 points during a 14-2 spurt as the Griffins cut the margin to one, 48-47, with 8:05 remaining. Pierangeli answered with a 3-pointer, junior forward Tara Gemmel (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua) scored on a layup and Mellody made a conventional 3-point play sandwiched between two free throws by Gwynedd Mercy’s Kathy Olinger (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) to extend Scranton’s lead to seven, 56-49, with 5:25 left.
The Griffins continued to chip away at Scranton’s lead and eventually tied the game at 58-58 with 40 seconds remaining on a layup by Ober. With time running down on the shot clock, Gemmel hit a driving layup with 11 seconds left to put Scranton up 60-58.
After a timeout with six seconds left, Gwynedd Mercy got the ball down low to Kent, whose shot fell short and Webster rebounded the shot for Scranton as the clock expired.
The Lady Royals advance to next Friday’s sectional semifinal to meet Wittenberg (Ohio), a 51-48 winner over Messiah, at a site to be determined. The Lady Royals will be making their 13th ‘Sweet 16’ appearance and its first since 2002.
GWYNEDD MERCY (26-4) Kathy Snell 9-20 0-0 20; Candice Ober 4-8 5-5 13; Kelly Olinger 3-9 2-2 8; Jackie Dougherty 3-5 0-0 6; Gina Morano 2-9 0-0 4; Tracey Kent 1-5 1-2 3; Alexis Boyle 1-2 0-1 2; Stacey Pieczynski 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-61 10-12 58. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (26-2) Kate Pierangeli 5-13 2-3 16; Taryn Mellody 5-18 1-1 11; Katie Dougherty 4-8 1-2 10; Eileen Webster 4-8 1-2 9; Tara Gemmel 4-7 0-0 8; Kelly Lewandowski 1-3 2-3 4; Maura Kane 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 9-13 60. Gwynedd Mercy................. 23 35 - 58 University of Scranton........ 32 28 - 60 3-point goals-Gwynedd Mercy 2-13 (Kathy Snell 2-9; Jackie Dougherty 0-1; Tracey Kent 0-1; Stacey Pieczynski 0-2), University of Scranton 5-15 (Kate Pierangeli 4-8; Katie Dougherty 1-2; Taryn Mellody 0-5). Fouled out—Gwynedd Mercy-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Gwynedd Mercy 42 (Kathy Snell 13), University of Scranton 36 (Kate Pierangeli 8; Tara Gemmel 8). Assists-Gwynedd Mercy 15 (Gina Morano 5), University of Scranton 18 (Kate Pierangeli 6). Total fouls-Gwynedd Mercy 16, University of Scranton 16. A-1800