(boxscore)
In a tale of two halves, Widener saw its six-game winning streak snapped with a 68-54 loss to Scranton at Schwartz Center.
Widener (7-4) looked in control, building a 14-point lead late in the first half and holding a 34-22 halftime edge. Senior Barbara Fleming (Philadelphia, PA) scored nine points and sophomore Alex Held (Westminster, MD) netted seven for the Pride, who shot 41 percent (11-of-27) from the field and limited the Lady Royals to 27 percent (9-of-33).
But Scranton (5-3) got it done on both ends of the floor after intermission, outscoring Widener 46-20 and holding it without a basket over the final 14:17. The Lady Royals shot 56 percent (15-of-27) in the second half with the Pride hitting only 17 percent (4-of-24).
Megan Kopecki scored 21 of her game-high 23 points in the second half, hitting 7-of-8 from the field after the break. She also closed with nine assists and eight rebounds over 35 minutes for Scranton, which shot 40 percent (24-of-60) from the floor.
Kelly Tratthen had 15 points and 14 rebounds over 23 minutes off the bench for the Lady Royals, who notched a 55-33 rebounding edge that included 29-12 in the second half.
Senior Beth Dessart Mager (Newtown Square, PA) scored 12 points, Fleming had 10 and six assists, and Held notched 10 and seven rebounds for Widener, which shot only 29 percent (15-of-51) for its first loss in six home games this season.
Widener looks to begin a new winning streak Saturday against McDaniel, beginning at 1:00 pm.
