Scranton, PA, (February 18, 2006) – The DeSales University women’s basketball team gave the #2 ranked Scranton Lady Royals all it could handle on Saturday afternoon, narrowly falling, 63-60, in the Freedom Conference regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon in the Long Center.

 

        Despite the loss, DSU finished the regular season with a 15-10 overall mark and a 9-5 record in the Freedom Conference.  The Bulldogs finish tied with Delaware Valley College for the second place but hold the season tiebreaker by virtue of its season sweep over the Aggies.  DeSales will host DVC in the opening round of the Freedom Conference playoffs on Wednesday, February 22^nd in Billera Hall at 7:00 pm.

 

        The University of Scranton finishes the regular season with a 24-1 overall mark and a perfect 14-0 record in the Freedom Conference.  They will host King’s College in the opening round of the playoffs at the Long Center on Wednesday at 6:00 pm.

 

        Early on this game looked as if it was going to be an easy win for the Lady Royals as they jumped out to a 13-3 lead at the 14:45 mark of the first half.  Four different Lady Royals scored to start the game.

 

        A three-pointer from freshman LeighAnn Burke (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) nailed a triple at the 12:46 mark to cut the margin down to seven points and ignited the Bulldogs as they took control of the game with an 18-7 run to take a 21-20 lead.  Junior Kirby Lutz (Easton, PA/Pen Argyl) led the spurt with 11 of the 18 points.

 

        Over the next four minutes it went back and forth with DeSales clinging to its one point edge at the 5:38 mark before a 13-4 run gave the visitor’s a 10-point advantage with 55 seconds left.  Freshman Erica Sovak (Tuxedo, NY/George F. Baker) scored the first five points of the run, Lutz totaled the next five and Burke finished the run with a three-pointer.

 

        A lay-up with 12 seconds left by junior Taryn Mellody cut the lead down to eight points and that score held as both teams headed to the locker room.  DSU shot 48.1 percent from the field in the opening half and held a 19-15 edge on the boards, while the Lady Royals shot 43.8 percent.

 

        The second half was a defensive battle for much of the first 13 minutes of the half as DSU clung to a four-point lead, 47-43, with both teams struggling to find the rhythm on the offensive end.  A three-pointer from junior Allison Matt and one free throw from junior Tiffaney Williams tied the game at 47 for the first time in the second half.

 

        After two free throws by sophomore Jenna Stampf (Nazareth, PA/Notre Dame) and one by Mellody saw DSU leading by one, Sovak and fellow freshman Kim Rarick (Ringtown, PA/North Schuylkill) hit four straight free throws to give DSU a five-point edge, 53-48, with 4:23 to go.

 

        A free throw from senior Erin Healy cut the lead to four and a DSU turnover in the backcourt was converted into a lay-up by Healy to make it 53-51 with 3:53 to go.  The Bulldogs again turned the ball over in the backcourt on its next possession and this time Matt connected a three-pointer from the right side to give Scranton its first lead of the second half, 54-53.

 

        After hitting 5-of-6 free throws over the next two minutes, Scranton led by five with 1:29 to go.  Rarick converted a lay-up to make it a three-point game and after a defensive stop on the other end, Lutz raced down the court for a lay-up to make it a one-point game with 48 ticks left.  Mellody was fouled and hit both freebies but Rarick answered with a short jumper in the lane to make it 61-60 with 26 seconds left.

 

        Again forced to foul, Matt made both charity tosses with 16 seconds left but DeSales was unable to get a shot attempt off as the final buzzer sounded and Scranton had escaped with the win.

 

        Lutz scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting; Burke added 12 points and Sovak tallied 11 points to lead DeSales.  Rarick had nine points and Stampf grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the loss.  The Bulldogs were hurt by turnovers as they committed 30 for the game.