And what a run it was.
Starting the season unranked and picked to finish second in the Landmark Conference pre-season poll, the Lady Royals shook off a 3-3 start by winning 24 of their next 25 games to move within a game of their ninth Final Four appearance in school history.
The storybook ending just wasn’t meant to be.
How Scranton managed to stay in this game is a testament to its grit and determination. The Lady Royals shot a paltry 19.2 percent from the field in the second half, yet still managed to erase a six-point halftime deficit and scratch out a three-point lead with 4:02 remaining. Scranton, however, scored only four points the rest of the way.
Sophomore guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) led Scranton, which ends its season with a 26-5 record, with 19 points and senior forward Kelly Tratthen (Olyphant, Pa./Lakeland), playing her final game, finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three steals and an assist.
For the game, the Lady Royals shot 25.5 percent from the field, including a dismal 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, and were out-rebounded, 43-31. Scranton’s saving grace, however, came at the free throw line, where the Lady Royals, uncharacteristically, knocked down 17 of 21 attempts, including 14 of 17 in the second-half. Scranton entered the game shooting only 58.4 percent from the free throw line.
All-America candidate Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood), despite saddled with four fouls, led The College of New Jersey with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists and forward Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, N.J./) and Alexandra Gregorek (Mahwah, N.J./Academy of Holy Angels) contributed 10 points apiece. The Lions will put a 27-4 record on the line in next Friday’s semifinal game against George Fox, which defeated next week’s host, Hope College, in another sectional championship game this evening.
The Lions were dealing with their own issues, namely hanging on to the basketball. They shot a respectable 41.9 percent from the field in the first half, building up a 9-point lead before settling for a 29-23 lead at intermission. In the second half, however, The College of New Jersey turned the ball over 15 times, giving the Lady Royals’ new life.
Sophomore forward Courtney Roselle (Cedar Grove, N.J./Mount St. Dominic) sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around a 3-pointer by Kopecki as Scranton scored the first seven points of the second half to take their first lead, 30-29, since the 16-minute mark of the first half. The game was tied four more times until the Lady Royals took their last lead on a pair of free throws by Roselle and a jump shot by Kopecki turned a 41-40 deficit into a 44-40 lead with 4:02 left.
Klimowicz started the game-winning rally with a jump shot, Gregorek followed a Lady Royal miss with a pair of free throws, and Klimowicz drained two free throws after a Scranton turnover to give the Lions a 47-44 lead with 1:13 left.
Roselle and Kopecki did manage to make it a one-possession game twice in the final minute with a pair of free throws each, but Lion junior guard Karen Lassoni (East Rutherford, N.J./Becton Regional) made five clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds of play to seal the victory. The College of New Jersey will make its first Final Four appearance in school history next Friday evening.
Roselle finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and two steals before fouling out for Scranton, which received only four points from its bench.
Despite the loss, Kopecki finishes her sophomore season with 524 points, the most by a Lady Royal since all-American Taryn Mellody tossed in 550 points in 2007. Kopecki is also one of only 10 players in Scranton history to score at least 500 points in a season.
Scranton is now 8-7 in NCAA sectional semifinal games in its 35-year history.
SCRANTON (26-5) Megan Kopecki 5-11 8-8 19; Kelly Tratthen 4-9 3-4 11; Courtney Roselle 2-8 5-7 9; Ryan Mooney 1-10 0-0 3; Jennifer King 1-8 0-0 3; Molly Klusek 1-1 0-0 2; Colleen McLane 0-2 1-2 1; Kelly Carman 0-1 0-0 0; Sarah Gage 0-1 0-0 0; Emily Rainey 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 14-55 17-21 48. THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY (27-4) Hillary Klimowicz 6-9 2-2 14; Alexandra Gregorek 4-8 2-6 10; Kelsey Kutch 4-6 2-2 10; Nicole Diaz 2-8 1-2 7; Alyssa Michella 1-9 2-4 5; Karen Lassoni 0-0 5-6 5; Keri Washington 1-3 0-0 2; Lisa Koch 0-2 1-2 1; Hannah Tait 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 15-24 54. Scranton...................... 23 25 - 48 The College of New Jersey..... 29 25 - 54 3-point goals--Scranton 3-24 (Ryan Mooney 1-9; Jennifer King 1-7; Megan Kopecki 1-3; Colleen McLane 0-1; Emily Rainey 0-3; Courtney Roselle 0-1), The College of New Jersey 3-15 (Nicole Diaz 2-6; Alyssa Michella 1-7; Lisa Koch 0-1; Hannah Tait 0-1). Fouled out--Scranton-Courtney Roselle, The College of New Jersey-None. Rebounds--Scranton 31 (Courtney Roselle 7), The College of New Jersey 43 (Hillary Klimowicz 10). Assists--Scranton 12 (Ryan Mooney 5), The College of New Jersey 11 (Lisa Koch 3; Hillary Klimowicz 3). Total fouls--Scranton 23, The College of New Jersey 18. Technical fouls--Scranton-None, The College of New Jersey-None. A-225.