Box Score
Scranton, PA – Lauren Rogan scored 21 points and teammate Mariah Schaeffer added 20 as Marywood University handed Neumann University its first loss in conference play this season as the Pacers defeated the Knights 71-65 on Monday evening. Marywood, who improved to 9-0 at home with the win, improves to 13-5 overall and 7-2 in the CSAC while the Knights fall to 15-5 and 10-1 in the conference.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded the lead eight times. Marywood held the biggest lead of the period at 22-15 with 6:04 to play after Marielle Thorsen (Belvidere, NJ) nailed a long three-pointer, but the Knights would use a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead with 3:12 to play in the opening half. Marywood's Arielle Chard (Woodstown, NJ) hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the teams to their respective locker rooms tied at 31-31.
The Pacers shot 37 percent from the floor in the opening half, including a 44.4 percent mark from three-point range, and were lead by Rogan's 12 points. Neumann, who got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Brittany Whetts in the first half, shot 30.8 percent from the floor and converted just one of nine three point attempts.
Katie Young put Neumann ahead early in the second half and the Knight would lead for the next 13 and a half minutes, but never by more than seven points. Marywood came back and tied the score with 6:04 to play on a Stephanie Fusaro (Bala Cynwyd, PA) jumper. The two sides swapped the lead several times before Thorsen hit a jumper with 2:29 to play, giving the Pacers a 57-55 lead, one that they would not relinquish. Neumann cut the score to 67-65 with four seconds to play, but Fusaro drained a pair of free throws after a foul by the Knights to ice the win for Marywood.
After hitting a career-high 24 points in a loss at Gwynedd-Mercy on Saturday, Rogan (Archbald, PA) finished with 21 points after shooting 6-10 from the floor including a 5-8 effort from three-point range while going 4-7 from the free throw line. Schaeffer (Bainbridge, NY) finished with 20 points despite hitting just three field goals, as the sophomore converted all 14 of her free throw attempts. Amanda Lass was the third Pacer in double-figures, contributing 11 points in the win for Marywood, who finished the game 40.8 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Whetts finshed with a huge game for Neumann, scoring a game-high 28 points and 15 rebounds. The Knights, who held a commanding 52-33 advantage in rebounds, got 13 boards from Katie Young and 11 points from Sami Borcky.
Marywood will host Centenary College in a key CSAC North Division battle on Thursday evening, as the Pacers look to avenge an 82-76 defeat to the Cyclones on January 25th. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in the Insalaco Arena.
