No. 22 Scranton 70, Lebanon Valley 59

LVC Starters
Lehr, Evans, Bamberger, Scarff, Mealey

Scranton Starters
Sheehan, Mann, Broderick, Mason, Recupero

How It Happened
SCRANTON, Pa. – No. 22 Scranton pulled away from Lebanon Valley late and defeated the Dutchmen 70-59 on Monday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball action. LVC now sits at 7-4, while the Royals improved to 9-1.

With 7:45 remaining in the fourth quarter and Scranton up by eight at 52-44, the Dutchmen put together a three-minute, 6-0 run, capped by two good free throws by Jen Kaufman, to come to within two points at 52-50 with 4:46 left in the game. The Royals, however, responded with a spurt of their own and scored four straight to increase their advantage to 56-52. On the ensuing Dutchmen possession, Becky Evans knocked down a jumper in the paint to make it 56-52, but the turning point of the game came with 2:15 remaining when Scranton's Makenzie Mason drilled a 3-pointer to put the Royals up 59-52 and eventually give them a 70-59 win after Scranton hit 7-out-of-8 free throws down the stretch.

It was a back-and-forth opening quarter that was tied 6-6 with 4:40 to go. The Royals ended the first on a 6-3 run and took a narrow 12-9 lead into the second quarter. Early on the second, Scranton opened up a 14-9 advantage, but Evans connected on a 3-point shot and Caroline Scarff followed it up with a layup to tie the contest at 14-14 with 8:09 remaining. From there until the end of the quarter, the score was tied on three separate occasions and with the Royals up 22-21 with four seconds to go, Bridgette Mann hit a trey with four seconds to go, giving Scranton a 25-21 lead heading into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Royals kept their lead but the Dutchmen never let Scranton pull away for good. At 5:53, two free throws by Anne Lehr cut the Royals' advantage to 35-31, but Scranton kept LVC's offense at bay and held a 47-39 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Inside the Numbers
 - Morgan Bamberger finished with a team-high 15 points, including four 3-pointers.
 - Lehr (12), Evans (11), and Scarff (10) were also in double digits in points with Lehr adding a team-high four assists in 40 minutes of action.
 - Scranton's Sofia Recupero led all scorers with 18 points and the Royals had four other plays in double digits in points, including Katie Broderick (12), Mann (12), Mason (10), and Katie Feehery (10).
 - The Royals held the edge in overall shooting percentage at 43.8 to 36.7-percent.
 - The Dutchmen went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe while the Royals were 24-for-27.

Who's Next?
LVC is set to partake in the Daytona Beach Shootout this Wednesday and Thursday. The Dutchmen take on Simpson College on Wednesday at 10 a.m. before battling Drew University on Thursday at 10 a.m.

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