By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
SCRANTON – Five of the dozen players who scored in double figures during Saturday’s Cross County Challenge women’s basketball doubleheader at the University of Scranton were District 2 graduates.
Savannah Purdy from Lake-Lehman scored 20 points while Faith Kendricks from Valley View came off the bench to add 18 points and 9 rebounds as Marywood University held off Wilkes College, 69-63, in the opener.
Abby Anderson from Holy Cross had 15 points and 9 rebounds in the second game when host Scranton handled King’s College, 80-56.
King’s was led by Holy Redeemer graduate Samantha Rajza with 16 points, all in the second half. Mid Valley’s Emily Morano added 11 points.
Purdy, a 5-foot-7 junior guard, scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes as Marywood won its third straight after an 0-2 start.
“She attacked the rim,” Marywood coach Jen Carleton said of Purdy, who finished 8-for-16 from the floor after being held below 30 percent for the first four games. “She was able to create some space. We really spread the floor out to create some lanes for her to get to the rim and she really took advantage of that.”
Purdy went 3-for-4 from the line and grabbed 5 rebounds while pushing her season scoring average above 10 points per game, second-best on the team.
Both Purdy and Kendricks hit their scoring highs.
Kendricks, who scored 15 points total in her first three college games, had 15 Thursday’s win over SUNY Delhi then topped that against Wilkes.
Susquehanna graduate Bethany Maby starts for the Pacers. The 5-foot-5 junior guard did not score, but her hit season rebounding average of six.
Jade Rolon, who scored 16 points, and Stephanie Klemick each had double-doubles in points and rebounds for the Pacers.
Erin Shober had 16 points for Wilkes (1-3) while Breanna Horton had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Two District 2 graduates played in the game for the Colonels. Alexa Jones from Honesdale played five minutes and Isabella McKeefery from Riverside played three. Neither scored.
Scranton (3-1) was led in the second game by preseason All-American Bridget Monaghan, who was 5-for-7 from 3-point range while scoring 25 points. Danielle McCurdy added 11 points.
Anderson and Kyra Quigley shared the team rebounding lead as Scranton pounded King’s, 54-25, on the boards, part of the reason it was able to outscore the Lady Monarchs, 48-10, in the paint.
Anderson, who played three years at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I St. Francis Brooklyn, is averaging 18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in her return from a year away from the sport.
The two District 2 graduates on the roster at King’s (2-2) are also the team’s leading scorers.
Rajza has hit 17 times from 3-point range in 4 games while averaging 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.8 assists.
Morano is 21-for-25 (84.0 percent) from the line while averaging 17.0 points, a team-high 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She is a 5-7 junior guard.
Ali Lindsay came off the bench to go 4-for-7 on 3-pointers while scoring 14 points for King’s.
