Framingham State’s Ava Mckeon defends University of Scranton’s Marisa Francione during NCAA DIII first-round game at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Friday, March 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Framingham State’s Ava Mckeon defends University of Scranton’s Marisa Francione during NCAA DIII first-round game at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Friday, March 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — Things could not have gone better for the University of Scranton women’s basketball team in their NCAA Division III tournament opener.
The Lady Royals turned in a record performance in dismantling Framingham State, 104-39, in the first round Friday night at the John Long Center.
Five players scored in double figures for Scranton (28-0), which set a program record for points in a NCAA tournament game. The previous mark was 103 points in a win over Waynesburg in the first round March 5, 1993. Scranton also had 101 points in an AIAW game — the forerunner to the NCAA — in the first round against Frostburg State on March 6, 1981.
Freshman Sophia Talutto from Dunmore, making her NCAA debut, led the Lady Royals with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Kaci Kranson, who played only the first half, followed with 16 points. Elizabeth Bennett added 13 points, Meghan Lamanna hit four 3-pointers for 12 points and Katie Gorski wound up with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Scranton shot 42 for 81 (51.9 percent), including 15 for 32 from 3-point range, and had 30 assists to advance to the second round Saturday at 8:30 p.m. against Otterbein University. The Lady Cardinals won the first game at the Long Center on Friday, 60-45, over Randolph Macon College.
The Lady Royals forced 25 turnovers with Kaeli Romanowski leading the way with four steals.
“Every time we play, our players are committed to getting after it on both ends of the court. Every possession for one possession at a time for 40 minutes,” Scranton coach Ben O’Brien said. “For us, it always starts with defense and I think that’s what we started with tonight. It got our offense going. We were able to shoot the ball really well. Not trying to make a statement. Just do like we’ve done all season. We’re treating every opportunity for this team to play together as a special opportunity. We don’t want to let one possession be wasted and I think our players are really in tune with that.”
Even if it wasn’t trying to make a statement, Scranton made one.
Lamanna sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a Gorski foul shot to give the Lady Royals a 7-0 lead. After Abigail Martin put back a rebound for Framingham State, Scranton scored the next 18 points, causing seven turnovers and forcing the Lady Rams to shoot 0 for 6. A rebound-and-basket by Kelsey Yelle stopped the run, but Kranson scored on a layup to give Scranton a 27-4 lead after one quarter.
Then, in the second, the Lady Royals shot 16 for 20, including 7 for 7 from beyond the 3-point arc, to score 40 points. Talutto had 13 in the quarter, Kranson eight and Bennett seven as Scranton opened a 67-16 halftime lead.
“My teammates and coaches have just really instilled a confidence in me for coming into these big games,” Talutto said. “Throughout the entire season, they’ve been a really good shoulder to lean on. I couldn’t have done it without them, for sure.”
Framingham State didn’t reach double digits until Faith Greene sank a pair of foul shots with 4:33 left in the second quarter. Lady Rams coach Walter Paschal could only watch in admiration at the Lady Royals’ performance.
“It was exactly what I thought,” Paschal said. “This is the best college team, Division III, that I’ve seen. Ben was very gracious. He did what he was supposed to do in the first half, then did the right thing (and played his bench) and I thanked him for it.
“I think they will win the whole thing.”
With a large margin and another game in 24 hours, O’Brien had the luxury of resting Kranson and Romanowski and allow the Scranton reserves to play the majority of the second half.
“Obviously, I want to play,” Kranson said. “But it’s a credit to my teammates that we can get everyone in the game, especially an NCAA tournament game. That’s something that’s big for our team, that’s something we always try to do. Every girl on our team has a special role, every girl at every practice gives it their all. It’s something special that they were able to get in the game. Behind the scenes, they do so much. They don’t get the recognition, so today I’m happy they were able to get recognized and show how hard they’ve been working.”
Leading after three quarters, 85-26, the only question that remained was whether the Lady Royals could hit the century mark and break their record. A 3-pointer by freshman Kelsey Miedreich with 1:23 left made it 102-39. A layup by freshman Gabriella Murphy with 57.6 seconds left got the record.
“Just happy we played well and that everyone was able to get in there and experience an NCAA tournament game,” O’Brien said. “I know how hard they’ve all worked to get that opportunity. Just really proud of the effort of every member of our team.”
With her 16 points, Kranson moved into second place on the Lady Royals’ all-time scoring list with 1,938 career points, passing Taryn Mellody who had 1932. Jen Nish is first with 2,178.
“That’s exciting to hear,” Kranson said. “But right now, we’re just looking forward to next game. What’s more on my mind is winning a national championship. That’s something we really want to bring home to Scranton and celebrate that here.”
Otterbein 60, Randolph Macon 45: In the first game at the Long Center, Otterbein had a six-point halftime lead, then outscored Randolph Macon in the third quarter, 15-3, to take control.
Cameron Sparks and Abby Rawlings each had 14 points for the Lady Cardinals (23-5), champions of the Ohio Athletic Conference. Sparks also grabbed 14 rebounds, while Mattie Walburn contributed 12 points.
McKenzie Matheny scored 14 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (21-8) of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thetimes-tribune.com ’
