NCAA BASKETBALL: Big fourth quarter sends Lady Royals to Elite Eight

SCRANTON — Its trademark defense was there throughout.

Fortunately for the University of Scranton women’s basketball team, its offense arrived just in time.

After struggling for three quarters, the Lady Royals came to life in the fourth to earn a 52-46 victory over Johns Hopkins University in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 on Friday night before a crowd of 1,345 at the John Long Center.

Kyra Quigley had 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and three huge fourth-quarter assists for Scranton (29-1). Maddie Hartnett added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Kaci Kranson had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Lady Royals beat the Blue Jays in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Despite missing time in the third quarter due to a nosebleed, Kaeli Romanowski collected six points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Lady Royals returned the Elite Eight for the second straight season. They will play Wisconsin-Stout on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Long Center for a trip to the Final Four next weekend in Salem, Virginia.

Stout (22-7) defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first game Friday, 62-56.

“Two great teams just grinding out every single possession. Two great defenses that made it difficult for any side to get into any kind of rhythm offensively,” Scranton coach Ben O’Brien said. “Our players down the stretch, particularly Maddie and Kyra, just made huge plays that ended up deciding the game.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team for sticking it out, hanging in there and performing when they needed to perform their best. They really saved their best for last in the fourth quarter. Our defense kept us in it the whole game and put us in a position that if we could just a few things to fall in the fourth quarter we’d be OK.”

Johns Hopkins (24-5) led after three quarters, 34-31. Scranton was just 14 for 45 from the field at the point, including 2 of 18 from 3-point range. The Blue Jays were 13 for 36 from the field, 1 of 9 beyond the arc.

You had the sense that whichever team could get hot first would win. To the dismay of Johns Hopkins coach Rodney Rogan, it was the Lady Royals, who hit six consecutive shots early in the fourth to take control They finished the quarter 9 for 14.

“They were able to make some big plays in the fourth to get that win,” Rogan said. “We had a couple of lapses against a really good team and when you’re not executing at the elite level, they’re going to make you pay. And they did that.”

Kranson missed a 3-pointer to open the fourth, but Hartnett grabbed the rebound and scored on a drive. Following a Johns Hopkins miss, Quigley fed Kranson for the layup that gave the Lady Royals a 35-34 lead. After the Blue Jays missed two free throws, Quigley scored off an inbounds pass from Romanowski.

“We kept on playing through Kyra,” O’Brien said. “She kept on making great decisions with the ball. She either was getting it and scoring inside or finding our shooters and they were knocking down the key shots.”

Greta Miller had a rebound-and-basket for Johns Hopkins, but Meghan Lamanna answered with a foul-line jumper. Macie Feldman hit 1 of 2 foul shots, but Romanowski scored off a drive and Hartnett off another inbounds feed from Romanowski to give Scranton a 43-37 lead with 5:46 remaining.

Kendall Dunham scored to cut the deficit to four. But Quigley found Hartnett open in the corner in front of the Scranton bench for a 3-pointer, then scored inside to give the Lady Royals a 49-38 lead with 2:56 left and cause the Long Center to get very loud.

“We threw the ball into Kyra and they got confused to where I was,” Hartnett said. “I made direct eye contact with Kyra and luckily just knocked it down. She just threw a beautiful cross-court pass, which was not an easy pass with how far away she was from me. Just in right place at right time.”

The Blue Jays, though, tried to battle back. Dunham had a three-point play. After a basket by Kranson, Layla Henderson scored, Feldman stole the inbounds pass and fed Michaela O’Neil for a basket and Johns Hopkins was within 50-46 with 27.2 seconds left.

However, Kranson went 2 for 4 from the foul line in the final 18.6 seconds to seal it and put the Lady Royals one win away from the Final Four.

“We want this,” Quigley said. “We’ve made it clear that we’re willing to do what it takes. We want to go all the way. (Saturday) is another step in that, so we’re ready.”

Given how the offenses were performing, both teams at halftime had to feel relief that it was only a 23-22 game in favor of Johns Hopkins. Both also had to feel frustrated that they weren’t ahead by double digits.

Hitting 8 of its first 12 shots, Johns Hopkins used a 12-2 run to open a 19-10 lead with 56.8 seconds left in the first quarter. But the Blue Jays did not score for the next 9:15, going 0 for 7 from the field with seven turnovers in that span.

That enabled Scranton to put together a 10-0 run. A basket by Quigley at the end of the first quarter cut the deficit to 19-12. Quigley opened the second with a basket before consecutive 3-pointers by Lamanna and Kranson gave the Lady Royals a 20-19 lead with 8:27 left.

But Scranton proceeded to go cold for a span of 7:50, missing nine shots and committing seven turnovers.

“We knew this was a big game and a really good team, so we had to dig in and rely on each other. I think we did that,” Quigley said. “Shots weren’t falling for either team, I think, because we both were playing such tenacious defense.

“But these are the games you play for. You know it’s not going to be easy. That’s what makes the win that much more sweet. We knew going down the stretch that shots would fall if we keep getting stops on defense.”

Late in the second quarter, referee Mark Horn, while attempting to avoid a Johns Hopkins player falling out of bounds along the baseline, appeared to suffer an Achilles injury. He had to be carried off and standby official David Claudio took his place.

UW-Stout 62, UW-Whitewater 56: In the opener at the Long Center, Raegan Sorensen had 25 points and 13 rebounds to help the Blue Devils defeat their fellow Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team for the third time in four meetings this season.

Whitewater (24-7) took a 53-52 lead on a basket by Bri McCurdy with 3:29 left. But baskets by Sorensen and Anna Mutch and two free throws by Sam Schaeffer gave Stout a 58-53 lead with 24 seconds left.

Kacie Carollo hit a 3-pointer for Whitewater to cut the deficit to two. But Mutch and Sorensen each hit two fouls shots in the final 17 seconds to seal it.

Mutch added 19 points for the Blue Devils. Carollo led the Warhawks with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Katie Hildebrandt added 1 points and 11 rebounds.

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