WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes women's basketball team were bested at the Marts Center, falling to No. 13 ranked University of Scranton 86-58 on Wednesday night.

The Colonels fall to 8-12 overall with a 4-9 record in Landmark Conference play, while the Royals improve to 18-2 overall and 11-2 in Landmark play.

Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) gave the Colonels the lead early lead as she responded to a Royal layup with a three-pointer. Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) extended the early lead with a layup to make it 5-2 Colonels. Scranton equalized on a layup and one before the two teams went shot for shot through the heart of the first quarter, with Wilkes maintaining the advantage 15-13. The Royals began to pull away late, outscoring the Colonels 14-2 to take a 27-17 lead into the second quarter.

Scranton grew their lead thanks to a 10-6 run before a timeout with 4:10 remaining in the half, up 37-23, and maintained a 46-30 lead going into halftime. Wilkes finished the half strong with a three-pointer from Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) and a buzzer-beating triple from Reagan Holden (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Wilkes-Barre Area).

Scranton started the second half with a three-pointer of their own, starting a 13-8 run to give them a 59-38 lead with two minutes left in the frame. Emma Stout (Bangor, PA/Bangor) gave the Colonel offense life with a triple and a jumper, scoring five in the Colonels 8-4 run to end the third quarter, down 63-46.

Madison Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) opened the final frame for the Colonels with her first career three-pointer, but were unable to pull off the upset as the Royals were victorious 86-58.

Babcock led the Colonels with 13 points and was a perfect 5-5 from the field. Matos led the team with three assists and added 10 points, while Shober had a team-high four rebounds. Stout added eight points off the bench on 3-4 shooting.

With her pair of assists in the contest, Julia Marino (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) moved into fifth place all-time in assists.

Maddy Ryan led the Royals with 16 points and six rebounds. Kaeli Romanowski led with four assists.

The Colonels return to action on Saturday, February 3 as they welcome Susquehanna University to the Marts Center for their Ovarian Cancer Awareness Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.