HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Despite being more than three hours from the cold and snow in their hometown, The University of Scranton women's basketball team felt the chill in a 71-48 loss to No. 13 Juniata in Memorial Gymnasium.

The Lady Royals shot just 32.8 percent (19-for-58) from the floor, including 1-for-13 from 3-point range, in suffering their first Landmark Conference defeat. The loss also snapped a six-game winning streak and drops the Lady Royals to 11-7 overall and 6-1 in the conference, a game behind Juniata (17-1, 7-0 Landmark).

Scranton was led by 16 points and seven rebounds from junior forward Erin Boggan (Danbury, Conn./Danbury). Freshman forward Meredith Mesaris (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) added 11 points and junior guard Katherine Torto (Binghamton, N.Y./Seton Catholic Central) had eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in the loss.

Scranton led at halftime, 25-24, thanks to stingy defense that held Juniata to 36.7 percent (11-for-30) from the field. But the Eagles found their shooting touch in the locker room at halftime, hitting 18 of 31 shots (58.1 percent) after the break. They also connected on five of eight 3-pointers in the second half after making just two of 12 in the opening 20 minutes.

The Lady Royals also turned the ball over 18 times while handing out just seven assists.

Juniata, which is ranked No. 13 in both the d3hoops.com and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, was led by 16 points and six assists from senior guard Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic). Sophomore guard Jordan Hileman (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg) added 14 and junior guard Jordan Speck (Huntingdon, Pa./South Huntingdon) added 10.

The loss was the fourth straight for the Lady Royals against Juniata. They are now 25-9 all-time against the Eagles, including 7-4 in Landmark Conference play.

Scranton returns to action on Friday, Jan. 27, when it travels to Washington, D.C. to take on Catholic University at 5:30 p.m.

--LADY ROYALS--