SCRANTON, Pa.—Junior guard Taryn Mellody made the most of her playing time in The University of Scranton’s 80-45 victory over Drew University in Freedom Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Long Center.
Mellody scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action as the 12th-ranked Lady Royals rolled out to a 42-19 halftime lead. Junior guard Allison Matt added 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field and senior guard Kelly Lewandowski came off the bench to score a season-high 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field as Scranton improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Freedom Conference.
Melissa Kraft led the Rangers, now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in league play, with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals and Courtney Cunningham added 11 points, two assists and three steals.
The Lady Royals went on a 23-7 spurt in the final six minutes of the first-half to break away from a 19-12 lead. Matt finished with 12 first-half points and Mellody had nine points and eight rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
Drew did manage to cut Scranton’s lead to 16, 53-37, with 14:10 remaining, but the Lady Royals answered with 13-2 run over the next six minutes to extend its margin to 27, 66-39. Scranton finished the game with a 52-27 rebounding advantage.
The Lady Royals will take on the Lady Greyhounds of Moravian College this Wednesday, December 7, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
DREW UNIVERSITY (4-1/1-1 Freedom) Melissa Kraft 7-20 0-0 15; Courtney Cunningham 5-13 1-1 11; Pam Kakalec 4-12 0-1 8; Maggie Marquis 0-5 6-6 6; Genie Valantassis 1-1 1-2 3; Kaitlyn Campi 1-3 0-0 2; Laura Methvin 0-1 0-0 0; Ann Mularz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-56 8-11 45. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (5-1/2-0 Freedom) Taryn Mellody 9-16 1-1 20; Allison Matt 6-10 0-0 14; Kelly Lewandowski 4-4 2-2 10; Stephanie Remington 3-6 0-0 8; Tiffaney Williams 4-6 0-0 8; Julie Brophy 2-7 2-2 6; Michelle Fabio 2-2 0-0 4; Molly Klusek 1-1 0-0 2; Meredith Paggi 1-4 0-0 2; Casey Thran 1-7 0-0 2; Erin Healy 1-4 0-0 2; Kathleen Daly 1-3 0-0 2; Tammy Waiters 0-4 0-0 0; Erin Quinn 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-76 5-5 80. Drew University............... 19 26 - 45 The University of Scranton.... 42 38 - 80 3-point goals-Drew University 1-13 (Melissa Kraft 1-7; Courtney Cunningham 0-5; Maggie Marquis 0-1), The University of Scranton 5-23 (Stephanie Remington 2-3; Allison Matt 2-4; Taryn Mellody 1-4; Julie Brophy 0-3; Meredith Paggi 0-2; Casey Thran 0-4; Erin Healy 0-2; Erin Quinn 0-1). Fouled out--Drew University-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-DrewUniversity 27 (Melissa Kraft 9), The University of Scranton 52 (Taryn Mellody 9). Assists-Drew University 14 (Maggie Marquis 4; Melissa Kraft 4), The University of Scranton 25 (Stephanie Remington 4). Total fouls-Drew University 11, The University of Scranton 15. A-500