SCRANTON, Pa.—Sophomore guard Taryn Mellody (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O’Hara) scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and tournament most valuable player (MVP) Allison Matt (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) scored 16 points to lead The University of Scranton to a 62-50 victory over DeSales University in the championship game of the Freedom Conference tournament Saturday evening at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
Senior forward Tara Gemmel (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua) added nine points and five rebounds and junior guard Erin Healy (Drexel Hill, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast) contributed five points, nine rebounds and five steals as the Lady Royals, ranked number one by USA Today/ESPN/WBCA and second by D3hoops.com, won their 26th consecutive game to improve to 26-1. DeSales, which missed 27 of 30 field goal attempts in the first-half to finish with seven points by intermission, was led by senior guard Jen Netwall (Allentown, Pa./Willam Allen), who scored all of her game-high 24 points in the second-half, and senior guard Alyssa Antolick (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) had 11 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Both teams struggled throughout much of the first-half before the Lady Royals, behind five points each by Mellody and Matt, out-scored the Lady Bulldogs, 14-2, in the final 10 minutes to take a 24-7 lead by intermission.
Matt scored the final 11 points of a 21-11 run seven minutes into the second-half as Scranton extended its lead to 27, 45-18. Netwall then scored 13 points during a 27-10 spurt over an 11-minute span to cut the lead to 10, 55-45, with 2:40 remaining. Lady Royal senior center Eileen Webster (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) hit one of two free throws and Gemmel scored on a lay-up off the second missed free throw by Webster to give Scranton a 58-45 lead with 1:07 left.
Netwall drained a 3-pointer and sandwiched a lay-up around two missed free throws by Gemmel to cut the margin to eight, 58-50, with 40 seconds left before Mellody canned four throws down the stretch to set the final score.
Scranton has now won 17 Middle Atlantic/Freedom Conference championships, including 14 under the leadership of 25th-year head coach Mike Strong, who earlier this year became one of only three coaches in NCAA Division III history with 600 career wins. Strong’s overall record is now 605-128 (.825).
The Lady Royals’ 26 consecutive wins is currently the second longest in school history and is tops this year in NCAA Division III women’s basketball. Scranton will also be making its 20th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Newspaper Box Score THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON 62, DESALES UNIVERSITY 50 DESALES UNIVERSITY (20-7) Jen Netwall 9-22 1-2 24; Alyssa Antolick 4-16 3-5 11; Holly Liebl 3-14 3-7 9; Julie Viercinski 2-5 0-0 4; Maria Viercinski 1-2 0-0 2; Kirby Lutz 0-20-0 0. Totals 19-61 7-14 50. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (26-1) Taryn Mellody 7-10 4-4 19; Allison Matt 6-17 1-1 16; Tara Gemmel 4-10 1-4 9; Erin Healy 2-8 0-2 5; Eileen Webster 1-5 3-4 5; Julie Brophy 2-3 0-0 4; Maura Kane 1-2 0-0 2; Michelle Fabio 1-3 0-0 2; Kelly Lewandowski 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 9-15 62. DeSales University............ 7 43 - 50 University of Scranton........ 24 38 - 62 3-point goals-DeSales University 5-19 (Jen Netwall 5-11; Alyssa Antolick 0-6; Julie Viercinski 0-2), University of Scranton 5-10 (Allison Matt 3-6; Erin Healy 1-1; Taryn Mellody 1-1; Tara Gemmel 0-2). Fouled out—DeSales University-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-DeSales University 40 (Holly Liebl 14), University of Scranton 47 (Taryn Mellody 11). Assists-DeSales University 11 (Julie Viercinski 4), University of Scranton 11 (Allison Matt 3; Kelly Lewandowski 3). Total fouls-DeSales University 15, University of Scranton 14. A-1200