SCRANTON, PA - The Susquehanna University women's basketball team made the trip Saturday to number-two University of Scranton, looking to size up once more against the undefeated Royals with the Landmark Tournament in sight. The River Hawks opened the game on a 7-0 run, though Scranton eventually caught up and posted a 74-51 win to move to 23-0 overall and 16-0 against the Landmark.
The day began an hour ahead of schedule, with the game tipping off at 1 p.m. instead of the original time of 2 p.m. due to anticipated inclement weather. Susquehanna adjusted to the new start time well as they opened with three field goals on each of their first three trips. The tip went to SU, where
Zoie Maffei had a layup, then next trip down a similar layup from
Lauren Klein.
Kenzie Selvaggi followed up with her only made three of the game for a quick 7-0 advantage. Scranton responded two-fold as the Royals ran off 14 straight points in exchange for the seven-point lead towards a 22-11 advantage after the first quarter.
It would be the only quarter where the Royals dropped in at least 20 points as Susquehanna's defense tightened up and finished the game leading 28-26 in defensive rebounds. The River Hawks finished the day shooting 35.3 percent from the field (18-51) going 6-of-19 on threes and 9-of-10 on free throws, while Scranton managed slightly higher production making 40.6 field goals (28-69) with 9-of-26 threes and 9-of-14 free throws. The Royals led 39-22 at halftime, and though the River Hawks waged a well-fought third quarter that saw them drop 17 points in the frame and cut Scranton's lead down to 12, the number-two team according to the WBCA and D3hoops.com national rankings managed to extend their lead by as many as 29 points in the final moments of the game.
Maffei staged another team-leading performance as the game's second-highest scorer with 15 points, going 5-for-9 from the field and succeeding on her lone 3-point attempt of the day, as well as all four of her free-throw opportunities. She also added four assists and three rebounds.
Sydney Weyant again offered up some scoring from beyond the arc, making 2-of-4 from long range as she finished with 12 points on the day.
Carly George led the rebounding fray with eight boards, including seven on defense, as well as scoring six points. Klein also offered up six points, while Selvaggi netted five points with four rebounds and Pinckert five points with three rebounds and three assists.
The junior Pinckert, who recently moved to ninth all-time in career assists, now sits with 286 career dish-outs, while her one 3-pointer on Saturday moves her up to 11th all-time with 71 made threes. The senior Selvaggi, meanwhile, stands fourth all-time with 115 made threes in a career. Her 34 made threes this season is the second-highest for her career next to her total of 40 from last season, which is eighth-best all-time.
In the grand scheme of things, Susquehanna, now 13-10 overall and 10-6 in the Landmark, heads back to Selinsgrove in a good spot as they close out the regular season against Juniata and Drew next week to maintain fourth place in the conference standings and Landmark Quarterfinals hosting privileges. Fifth-place Drew was in a similar predicament Saturday as the Rangers battled with ranked conference opponent and third-place Catholic, with the Cardinals winning 78-62. Susquehanna remains one game ahead of Drew, who hold a 14-9 overall ledger and 9-7 in the Landmark. The River Hawks host Juniata this Wednesday, with the Eagles celebrating a 90-87 win over Goucher Saturday to slide them into a tie for the sixth and final tournament spot with the Gophers.
