SELINSGROVE, Pa.—The new kid made quite an impression in The University of Scranton's 91-57 victory over Susquehanna University in the first of a four-game Landmark Conference road trip Friday evening at Houts Gymnasium.

Freshman forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), who joined the team nine days ago after transferring from American University, connected on 10 of 15 shots from the floor and finished with 27 points in 19 minutes of action as the Lady Royals won their sixth straight game to improve to 11-6 overall and 6-0 in the conference.  

Mesaris made sure the Lady Royals didn't overlook the Crusaders in anticipation of tomorrow's showdown against 13th-ranked and defending Landmark Conference champion Juniata.  She scored 21 points in the first half as Scranton shot nearly 55 percent from the field in opening up a 54-29 lead by intermission.  It was the Royals' highest first-half scoring output since scoring 57 points in a 100-69 victory over Salem State on December 30, 2004.

Scranton, which shot a season-high 50.7 percent from the field, also received 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists from junior forward Tayler Pallotta (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore), a season-high 11 points from freshman guard Lia DiSciascio (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), and 10 from junior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury).  Junior forward Gina Palazzi (Newfoundland, Pa./Wallenpaupack) led Susquehanna, now 4-13 overall and 1-5 in the Landmark Conference, with 13 points.

Tomorrow's game between the Lady Royals and Juniata will tip-off at 4:00 p.m. and will be carried live by WUSR, 99.5 FM, and over the Internet at www.wusrfm.com, with veteran announcer Dean Corwin calling all the action.

News & Notes:  Scranton's 91 points was a season-high, eclipsing the previous high of 82 against Marywood University on November 30 at the Long Center…Scranton is 285-3 all-time in games in which it scores 80-or-more points…Lady Royals out-rebounded the Crusaders, 44-36, and held a 56-16 advantage in bench points.

Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 91, SUSQUEHANNA 57

SCRANTON (11-6/6-0 Landmark)
Meredith Mesaris 10-15 5-7 27; Tayler Pallotta 5-5 2-3 12; Lia DiSciascio 3-5 3-4 11; Erin Boggan 5-8 0-0 10; Raychel Shannon 3-6 0-0 7; Alison Sweeney 3-9 0-0 7; Katherine Torto 1-2 2-2 4; Christina Hiltunen 1-5 0-0 3; Shernai  Bentley 1-1 1-2 3; Sidney Jaques 1-6 0-0 3; Lindsay Fluehr 0-2 2-4 2; Emma Hart 1-2 0-2 2; Katie Sherry 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-67 15-24 91.
SUSQUEHANNA (4-13/1-5 Landmark)
Gina Palazzi 5-12 3-3 13; Korey McCaffrey 3-10 0-0 9; Eleni Dimou 4-12 0-0 8; Jonaida Williams 3-3 2-2 8; Mariah Monahan 2-5 1-1 5; Shannon Grunwald 2-6 0-0 4; Ainsley Rossitto 1-4 0-2 3; Amanda Eich 1-1 0-1 3; Samantha Pelletier 0-5 2-2 2; Jennifer Montan 0-1 2-2 2; Nora Joyce 0-2 0-0 0; Shelby Weikel 0-2 0-0 0; Anyolina Montilla 0-1 0-0 0; Ariana Stowe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-64 10-13 57.

Scranton......................   54   37  -   91
Susquehanna...................   29   28  -   57

3-point goals--Scranton 8-21 (Lia DiSciascio 2-4; Meredith Mesaris 2-3; Raychel Shannon 1-1; Christina Hiltunen 1-4; Alison Sweeney 1-4; Sidney Jaques 1-4; Katherine Torto 0-1), Susquehanna 5-25 (Korey McCaffrey 3-7; Amanda Eich 1-1; Ainsley Rossitto 1-2; Mariah Monahan 0-2; Shannon Grunwald 0-2; Samantha Pelletier 0-3; Jennifer Montan 0-1; Nora Joyce 0-1; Eleni Dimou 0-6). Fouled out--Scranton-None, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds—Scranton 44 (Tayler Pallotta 6), Susquehanna 36 (Gina Palazzi 7). Assists—Scranton 30 (Tayler Pallotta 5), Susquehanna 17 (Eleni Dimou 4; Jonaida Williams 4). Total fouls--Scranton 14, Susquehanna 18. Technical fouls--Scranton-None, Susquehanna-None. A-222