After losing at Elizabethtown last season, Kaci Kranson and Scranton took care of business on Wednesday night.  Photo by Vin Rinella, University of Scranton athletics

No. 2 Scranton passed its toughest test to date on the road, while No. 20 Baldwin Wallace continued its conference dominance with a victory at Otterbein. The road treated most of the WIAC teams just fine, but No. 7 Hope was less fortunate at Trine. 

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No. 2 Scranton avoided stumbling in Elizabethtown for the second straight year, as the Royals pulled away from the Bluejays, 59-50, in Central Pennsylvania. 4

Neither team scored much in the first half, which ended in an 20-all tie, but the Royals closed the third period on an 11-2 run capped by a Kaci Kranson layup and Meghan Lamanna three that gave Scranton a 42-27 advantage. The Blue Jays pulled within five midway through the fourth, but Lamanna scored again and restored the Royals’ three-possession lead. 

Kranson and Lamanna combined for 32 points on 28 shot attempts for Scranton (12-0, 5-0 Landmark), which will play Susquehanna at the Palestra on Sunday afternoon.

No. 20 Baldwin Wallace continued its dominance in the OAC, as the Yellow Jackets went on the road and beat Otterbein, 64-55, for their 23^rd consecutive conference victory dating back to last season. Baldwin Wallace (12-2, 5-0 OAC) broke the game open with a 23-point third quarter in which the Yellow Jackets shot 75 percent. They shot 50 percent overall and got 30 points from their reserves, including 11 apiece for Leah Riley and Taylor Bass.

Home court advantage wasn’t much of one in the WIAC where No. 3 UW-Oshkosh, No. 8 UW-Whitewater and UW-Platteville won on the road.

UW-Oshkosh got 19 points from Paige Seckar and Sarah Hardwick in the fourth quarter and rallied past UW-La Crosse, 55-48. The Titans held the Eagles to 12 points in the final period and improved to 2-0 in conference with two road wins, despite shooting 2 for 17 from three. Seckar finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for Oshkosh (13-0, 2-0 WIAC).

The story was similar at Stevens Point where UW-Whitewater had a strong fourth quarter and rallied past the Pointers, 56-48. The Warhawks shot 58 percent in the fourth quarter, while holding UW-Stevens Point to 10 points on 4-for-18 shooting. UW-Whitewater (11-2, 1-1 WIAC) got 11 points from Brooke Stenklyft and 10 from Mia Gillis.

UW-Platteville’s strong start was the difference in Eau Claire, where the Pioneers knocked off No. 24 UW-Eau Claire, 59-55. Platteville held the Blugolds to two made field goals and led 18-6 after one period, and that lead held up the rest of the game. Ashley Weir paced UW-Platteville (12-1, 2-0 WIAC), which has won eight straight, with 12 points.

No. 7 Hope had less success on the road at Trine where first-year guard Annika Southworth scored 13 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Thunder past the Flying Dutch, 67-61. Southworth opened the final period with back-to-back threes that gave the Thunder a 47-42 lead, and Madison Wagner sank several key free throws late to seal Trine’s third straight win over Hope. Wagner also scored a game-high 21 points off Trine’s bench, and the Thunder (10-3, 4-0 MIAA) seized first place in the conference. 

No. 4 Johns Hopkins got a surprising midweek test from three-win Swarthmore, as the Garnet battled the Blue Jays before falling in Baltimore, 77-68.

Swarthmore played Johns Hopkins tough and evened the score at 64 on Carly Murphy’s jumper midway through the fourth quarter. JHU took the lead back when Emily Collins scored a bucket off an offensive rebound and Faith Williamson followed with a three-pointer, and the Blue Jays hung on from there. Johns Hopkins (12-0, 3-0 Centennial) had as many offensive rebounds as the Garnet did total rebounds (32) and took 22 more field goal attempts, but also turned the ball over 22 times.

No. 22 Bethel rebounded from Saturday’s loss with a 70-69 win over Saint Mary’s (Minn.) that ended the Cardinals’ nine-game winning streak. The Royals took the lead on Emily Erickson’s layup with 1:15 to play and then stole the ball on Saint Mary’s next two possessions. Bethel couldn’t expand its lead, and the Cardinals had one more chance to win the game, but missed at the buzzer.

Erickson scored 19 points in 20 minutes for Bethel (8-4, 4-1 MIAC), which did not have all American Elly Schmitz. Brianna Nusbaum tallied 30 points, four rebounds, and three steals for Cardinals (10-2, 4-1 MIAC). Both teams remain one game behind No. 25 Concordia-Moorhead which rolled past Carleton, 78-50.

Randolph-Macon reduced the number of undefeated Division III women's teams by one, as the Yellow Jackets stung Guilford, 64-63, on McKenzie Matheny's four-point play. The Quakers held a 63-60 lead in the final seconds when Matheny drained her first three of the season and got fouled with one second remaining. She added the free throw and Guilford missed its final shot. Matheny posted 20 points and 13 rebounds for Randolph Macon (9-3, 3-0 ODAC) while Anna Giannopoulou posted 13 points and 13 boards for Guilford (11-1, 2-1 ODAC).

Both sides of the MAC tipped off conference play with surprising results.

Morgan Janeski scored 24 points to lead five Misericordia players in double figures, and the Cougars upended defending MAC Freedom champions Stevens, 76-61. Misericordia (6-6, 1-0 MAC Freedom) was sixth in the MAC Freedom preseason poll topped by Stevens. 

In the MAC Commonwealth, Rayne Reber scored a victory over her alma mater, as Alvernia dropped Widener, 69-59. After scoring 18 points in the first half, the Golden Wolves exploded for 51 in the second, and Alvernia evened its overall record at 6-6. Lilian Metrick notched 17 points for the Pride (9-3, 0-1 MAC Commonwealth).