Early 17-0 Spurt Allows Visiting Royals to Coast

Gophers Surpass 50 Rebounds for Second Time in 2010-11

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher got on the scoreboard first tonight thanks to a layup by Leia Roberts-Brown (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll), but Scranton retaliated with 17 unanswered points and the Royals went on to defeat head coach Didi Cotton's Gophers, 71-48, in a Landmark Conference game played in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.

The 17-2 deficit after 5:12 was the biggest the Gophers (2-13, 2-5 Landmark) faced in the first half. An 8-0 run that featured a 3-point basket by Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew Academy) reduced Scranton's lead to 17-10 and twice Goucher closed to within five points of the Royals, both times on layups by Taquasia Lambert (Brooklyn, N.Y./Patapsco).

After Katie Cunningham made two free throws to put Scranton up 32-19, neither team scored again over the final 3:15 of the opening period.

After the Royals (12-5, 6-1 Landmark) opened the second half with an 8-0 run, their lead never dipped below 18 points the rest of the way.

Lambert came off the bench to finish as Goucher's leading scorer. She furnished the Gophers with 11 points.

von Ende is the only other active Goucher player who has managed to score in double figures in a game against Scranton, but tonight she was held to three points.

Cunningham finished with 16 points. Scranton, which pulled into a tie for first place in the Landmark Conference with Moravian because of tonight's win, also had two other double-digit scorers: Jennifer King with 12 points and Alison Sweeney with 10.

Goucher wound up with a narrow 51-50 edge on the boards. It's only the second time all season that the Gophers have exceeded 50 rebounds in a game.