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SCRANTON — All season, the University of Scranton women’s basketball team leaned on its defense. However, the University of Wisconsin-Stout dented that armor Saturday night.
Raegan Sorensen scored 33 points and the Blue Devils knocked off the Lady Royals, 81-77, in the NCAA Division III Elite Eight before a crowd of 1,287 at the John Long Center.
Amanda Giesen added 22 points and Anna Mutch chipped in 12 as Stout (23-7) advanced to the Final Four for the first time and deny Scranton an 11th trip. The Blue Devils will face defending champion New York University in the semifinals Thursday in Salem, Virginia.
“That was just a hard-fought battle,” Stout coach Hannah Iverson said. “The game came down to tiny moments on the defensive end and on scrappy rebounds — honestly, a ton of heart plays. When it comes down to those moments, my money is on (my) guys every single time.
“We made plays when they had to be made.”
Not even a record-tying shooting performance by Meghan Lamanna could save the Lady Royals. The sophomore from New Providence, New Jersey, finished with 24 points on eight 3-pointers, which ties the single-game program record shared by Anne Gooley (1991), Bridgette Mann (2018) and Bridget Monaghan (2021).
Also, the eight 3-pointers are tied for second in a tournament game in NCAA Division III history with two others. The record is nine shared by two players, including Celia Rader of King’s College, a Scranton Prep graduate, in 2012.
Kaci Kranson led the Lady Royals (29-2) with 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Kaeli Romanowski finished with 13 points. Maddie Hartnett, in her final game as a Lady Royal, finished with nine points and six assists before fouling out with 9.9 seconds remaining. Kyra Quigley contributed four points, nine rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
Still, Scranton fell short in the Elite Eight for the second straight season.
“I thought it was a tremendous, high-level game at both ends of the court. Incredible basketball back and forth,” Scranton coach Ben O’Brien said. “It came down to some great plays down the stretch by both teams. They just happened to make one more great play at the end there.”
Stout’s physicality posed a problem for Scranton. The Blue Devils initiated a lot of contact on offense and got to the foul line 15 more times than the Lady Royals (22-7). They also held a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Defensively, they were very aggressive and forced the Lady Royals to commit 18 turnovers.
Plus, they fronted Quigley in the post which made it difficult for the Lady Royals to get the ball inside to her. Quigley attempted only three shots, two of which she made.
Despite that, back-to-back baskets by Kranson tied the game at 77 with 2:03 left and had the Long Center rocking.
But after Stout missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, the Lady Royals had a turnover. Stout missed again, but got the offensive rebound. Following a timeout, Giesen banked in a runner in the lane just before the shot clock expired to give the Blue Devils a 79-77 lead with 33.2 seconds remaining.
“Knowing the score was tied, I knew there was nothing to lose if I miss that shot,” Giesen said. “As the time was running down, we needed something there. They were closing out super-hard, so I knew I’d be able to draw some attention in the paint. I just chucked it up and didn’t know if it was going to go in, but I’m glad it did.”
Added O’Brien: “I thought we defended that well, maybe our best defensive possession of the game. Hats off to her. She made a great shot.”
On the ensuing Scranton possession, it turned the ball over on an errant pass with 13.4 seconds left. Sorensen was fouled with 12.1 seconds left. She hit the first foul shot and missed the second. But Stout tied up the rebound and gained possession via the arrow. Sorensen was fouled again, hitting the second to make it 81-77 with 9.9 seconds left. Trying to get a quick score, the Lady Royals turned the ball over again, touching off a celebration by the Stout players and their fans when the final buzzer sounded.
Early on, Lamanna was the story. She hit six of seven 3-point attempts in the the opening 7½ minutes. And her one miss, Romanowski rebounded and scored as the Lady Royals jumped out to a 22-14 lead.
“All the credit goes to my teammates,” Lamanna said. “They did a great job of driving, keeping their head up and finding me.
“I wasn’t keeping track, but it felt good when the first few went in. I just kept shooting it with confidence.”
However, Stout didn’t flinch. It scored the next eight points to tie the game at 22 early in the second. The teams traded scores over the next several minutes before an 11-6 spurt to close the quarter gave Stout a 43-37 halftime lead. The Blue Devils’ 43 points were almost as many as Scranton allows per game (45.4).
“They have very talented players, very athletic players who have the ability to score over you,” O’Brien said. “That’s not an easy thing to do. You don’t see that a lot. You don’t see players who score over defenders at a high percentage. It’s usually players getting around defenders. But they had a couple players who had the ability to elevate over defense, which was very hard to guard.”
Geisen opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to nine. But the Lady Royals answered with a 20-6 run that featured two more Lamanna 3-pointers, seven points from Romanowski and five from Kranson that gave Scranton a 57-52 lead with 4:24 left.
“Meghan came up huge for us, that was a big boost,” Kranson said. “I think we were a little startled in the first half, which got us off to a bit of a slow start. But second half, we got our rhythm back and started getting it inside-out. I think that really helped our half-court offense.”
Again, Stout had a response. The Blue Devils put together a 14-4 run on their way to leading, 68-65, after three quarters.
Hartnett and Romanowski scored to start the fourth and give the Lady Royals a 69-68 lead. But Stout scored nine of the next 13 points to open a 77-73 lead with 4:52 to play.
Kranson’s two baskets tied it, but it wasn’t meant to be for the Lady Royals.
“I’m incredibly proud of my team, it’s been a great season,” O’Brien said. “Hats off to Stout, they’re an excellent team. They were hard to guard, played tough defense and we did the same. We really got after it in the second half. We were right there. Obviously I wished we’d won, but it was a great game to be a part of.”
Sorensen’s 33 points give her 1,725 for her career, which ranks second on the program’s all-time list. She is 15 away from breaking the mark of 1,738 points held by Julie Hirssig (2006-10).
Joining Stout and NYU at the Final Four are Smith College and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The semifinals are Thursday with the championship game Saturday.
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Raegan Sorensen scored 33 points and the Blue Devils knocked off the Lady Royals, 81-77, in the NCAA Division III Elite Eight before a crowd of 1,287 at the John Long Center.
Amanda Giesen added 22 points and Anna Mutch chipped in 12 as Stout (23-7) advanced to the Final Four for the first time and deny Scranton an 11th trip. The Blue Devils will face defending champion New York University in the semifinals Thursday in Salem, Virginia.
“That was just a hard-fought battle,” Stout coach Hannah Iverson said. “The game came down to tiny moments on the defensive end and on scrappy rebounds — honestly, a ton of heart plays. When it comes down to those moments, my money is on (my) guys every single time.
“We made plays when they had to be made.”
Not even a record-tying shooting performance by Meghan Lamanna could save the Lady Royals. The sophomore from New Providence, New Jersey, finished with 24 points on eight 3-pointers, which ties the single-game program record shared by Anne Gooley (1991), Bridgette Mann (2018) and Bridget Monaghan (2021).
Also, the eight 3-pointers are tied for second in a tournament game in NCAA Division III history with two others. The record is nine shared by two players, including Celia Rader of King’s College, a Scranton Prep graduate, in 2012.
Kaci Kranson led the Lady Royals (29-2) with 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Kaeli Romanowski finished with 13 points. Maddie Hartnett, in her final game as a Lady Royal, finished with nine points and six assists before fouling out with 9.9 seconds remaining. Kyra Quigley contributed four points, nine rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
Still, Scranton fell short in the Elite Eight for the second straight season.
“I thought it was a tremendous, high-level game at both ends of the court. Incredible basketball back and forth,” Scranton coach Ben O’Brien said. “It came down to some great plays down the stretch by both teams. They just happened to make one more great play at the end there.”
Stout’s physicality posed a problem for Scranton. The Blue Devils initiated a lot of contact on offense and got to the foul line 15 more times than the Lady Royals (22-7). They also held a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Defensively, they were very aggressive and forced the Lady Royals to commit 18 turnovers.
Plus, they fronted Quigley in the post which made it difficult for the Lady Royals to get the ball inside to her. Quigley attempted only three shots, two of which she made.
Despite that, back-to-back baskets by Kranson tied the game at 77 with 2:03 left and had the Long Center rocking.
But after Stout missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, the Lady Royals had a turnover. Stout missed again, but got the offensive rebound. Following a timeout, Giesen banked in a runner in the lane just before the shot clock expired to give the Blue Devils a 79-77 lead with 33.2 seconds remaining.
“Knowing the score was tied, I knew there was nothing to lose if I miss that shot,” Giesen said. “As the time was running down, we needed something there. They were closing out super-hard, so I knew I’d be able to draw some attention in the paint. I just chucked it up and didn’t know if it was going to go in, but I’m glad it did.”
Added O’Brien: “I thought we defended that well, maybe our best defensive possession of the game. Hats off to her. She made a great shot.”
On the ensuing Scranton possession, it turned the ball over on an errant pass with 13.4 seconds left. Sorensen was fouled with 12.1 seconds left. She hit the first foul shot and missed the second. But Stout tied up the rebound and gained possession via the arrow. Sorensen was fouled again, hitting the second to make it 81-77 with 9.9 seconds left. Trying to get a quick score, the Lady Royals turned the ball over again, touching off a celebration by the Stout players and their fans when the final buzzer sounded.
Early on, Lamanna was the story. She hit six of seven 3-point attempts in the the opening 7½ minutes. And her one miss, Romanowski rebounded and scored as the Lady Royals jumped out to a 22-14 lead.
“All the credit goes to my teammates,” Lamanna said. “They did a great job of driving, keeping their head up and finding me.
“I wasn’t keeping track, but it felt good when the first few went in. I just kept shooting it with confidence.”
However, Stout didn’t flinch. It scored the next eight points to tie the game at 22 early in the second. The teams traded scores over the next several minutes before an 11-6 spurt to close the quarter gave Stout a 43-37 halftime lead. The Blue Devils’ 43 points were almost as many as Scranton allows per game (45.4).
“They have very talented players, very athletic players who have the ability to score over you,” O’Brien said. “That’s not an easy thing to do. You don’t see that a lot. You don’t see players who score over defenders at a high percentage. It’s usually players getting around defenders. But they had a couple players who had the ability to elevate over defense, which was very hard to guard.”
Geisen opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to nine. But the Lady Royals answered with a 20-6 run that featured two more Lamanna 3-pointers, seven points from Romanowski and five from Kranson that gave Scranton a 57-52 lead with 4:24 left.
“Meghan came up huge for us, that was a big boost,” Kranson said. “I think we were a little startled in the first half, which got us off to a bit of a slow start. But second half, we got our rhythm back and started getting it inside-out. I think that really helped our half-court offense.”
Again, Stout had a response. The Blue Devils put together a 14-4 run on their way to leading, 68-65, after three quarters.
Hartnett and Romanowski scored to start the fourth and give the Lady Royals a 69-68 lead. But Stout scored nine of the next 13 points to open a 77-73 lead with 4:52 to play.
Kranson’s two baskets tied it, but it wasn’t meant to be for the Lady Royals.
“I’m incredibly proud of my team, it’s been a great season,” O’Brien said. “Hats off to Stout, they’re an excellent team. They were hard to guard, played tough defense and we did the same. We really got after it in the second half. We were right there. Obviously I wished we’d won, but it was a great game to be a part of.”
Sorensen’s 33 points give her 1,725 for her career, which ranks second on the program’s all-time list. She is 15 away from breaking the mark of 1,738 points held by Julie Hirssig (2006-10).
Joining Stout and NYU at the Final Four are Smith College and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The semifinals are Thursday with the championship game Saturday.
Continue reading...
