NCAA BASKETBALL: Denison denies Lady Royals in championship game
SALEM, Virginia — A pair of scoring droughts ended the University of Scranton women’s basketball team’s dream of a national championship. Dension University scored 19 of the game’s final 21 points to spoil a gritty Lady Royals comeback in the third quarter and earn a 55-41 victory Saturday in the NCAA Division III final at Roanoke College’s Creeger Center. Abby Cooch had 18 points for the Big Red (30-2) and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Kaci Kranson and Meghan Lamanna each had 10 points for Scranton (32-1) and Kaeli Romanowski added nine points and 17 rebounds. Kranson went over the 2,000 career-point mark on a 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Lamanna scored on a drive to open the fourth quarter and give the Lady Royals a 36-33 lead.
Abby Cooch tied it for Denison with a 3-pointer, but Elizabeth Bennett countered with a 3-pointer to put Scranton back in front, 39-36, with 9:06 remaining. However, the Lady Royals went scoreless for almost the next six minutes, enabling Denison to score 14 straight points to take control, 50-39, with 3:21 left and the Big Red were on their way to the title. Denison’s size gave the Lady Royals offense trouble in the first half.
Elizabeth Bennett hit a 3-pointer right before the first-quarter buzzer to cut Denison’s lead to 11-10. But in the second quarter, Scranton managed just one point — a Kaeli Romanowski free throw with 8:37 left — and shot 0 for 17 from the field, including 0 for 7 from 3-point range. Fortunately, the defense kept the Lady Royals in the game.
It held Denison to 8-for-38 shooting in the first half, including 2 for 17 from 3-point range. The Big Red had just one field goal in the final 7:08 of the first half. That field goal, however, was a 3-pointer by Violet Mitchell with 2:11 left to give Denison a 19-11 halftime lead.