Steve Finkernagel

Elena Stambone dropped 34 points in the Lady Colonels first win over Scranton since their first ever contest on February 17, 1975

STAMBONE’S 34 POINTS HELP SNAG SECOND-EVER WIN OVER SCRANTON 75-67

12/5/2012 9:46:00 PM

Box Score

STAMBONE'S 34 POINTS HELP SNAG SECOND-EVER WIN OVER NO. 21 SCRANTON 75-67

SCRANTON, PA – Elena Stambone (Jessup, PA/Valley View) fired in a career-high 34 points including a school record six three-pointers to lead Wilkes University to a 75-67 win over host No. 21 University of Scranton in non-conference action Wednesday night at the Long Center.

With the win, the Lady Colonels improve to 5-2 while Scranton falls to 6-1.

In a series that has been dominated by the Lady Royals, Wilkes earned their first-ever victory at the Long Center and their first victory against Scranton since February 17, 1975 which was Scranton's second women's basketball game in program history breaking a 51-game losing skid in the process.

Wilkes used hot three-point shooting, paced by Stambone to give Wilkes a 41-32 edge at halftime over the twenty-first nationally ranked Lady Royals. Down 18-17 with nine minutes left in the first half, Chelsea Brown (Garnet Valley, PA/Garnet Valley) and Megan Kazmerski (Kingston, PA/Holy Redeemer) traded layups before the rest of the Lady Colonel squad heated up. Stambone hit two three-pointers in transition while Ginny Edwards (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks South) complimented the threes with two layups of her own on four consecutive Lady Colonel possessions. Stambone's three-pointer with 2:36 left in the first half gave Wilkes a 39-28 cushion before Angela Palmerio (Telford, PA/Lansdale Catholic) made a layup to compliment the Lady Colonel offense in the first half.

Wilkes cooled down a bit in the second frame, but clutch free throw shooting kept the Lady Royals in check and never brought Scranton back to within less than seven points. Scranton got to within seven after a Meredith Mesaris free throw with 8:20 to play, but a layup by Brown from Lindsey Chester (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield Secondary) pushed the Lady Colonels back to a nine point lead. A Mesaris layup on their next possession was erased when Stambone laced a jumper in transition to keep the Lady Royals at bay. In the second half, the Lady Colonels hit 14-16 free throws while Stambone was a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Stambone enjoyed one of the finest nights in Lady Colonel history finishing 8-for-18 from the floor and 6-of-9 from behind the arc. The six treys ties a school record for three-pointers in a single game. She added five rebounds playing 36 minutes in the contest. Kazmerski followed with 11 points and three rebounds, while Edwards scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.

Wilkes was hot from behind the arc as a team shooting a season-high 53.3 percent (8-15) from long range. The Lady Colonel pressure defense wore Scranton down limiting the Lady Royals to just 37.1 percent (23-62) shooting from the floor.

The Lady Royals were led by Mesaris' 30 points and Erin Boggan's 16 point effort.

The Lady Colonels return to action Saturday when they travel to Selinsgrove, Pa. to face Susquehanna University at 1:00 p.m.

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