SCRANTON, Pa.—The University of Scranton opened its season with a win Tuesday evening at the Long Center, defeating Montclair State University, 58-46.

The Lady Royals emerged from halftime with a narrow 32-27 lead, but clamped down in the second half defensively, allowing only 19 points and keeping the Hawks out of the bonus until the waning minutes of the game.

Scranton was led by senior guards Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) and Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside), who finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively.  Kopecki also contributed six steals and four assists.

Point-guards Colleen McLane (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) and Katie Cunningham (Garden City, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) also played well for the Lady Royals, combining for 15 fifteen points while committing only two turnovers.

The Hawks looked to their bench for much of their scoring, with Devin Feeney (Whippany, N.J./Whippany Park) and Theresa Towns (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) coming off the bench for 11 and eight points, respectively.

The Lady Royals held a significant advantage in free-throw percentage, outshooting the Hawks 62.5% to 20%.

The Royals, now 1-0, will travel to Center Valley, Pa. to take on William Paterson University in the opening round of the DeSales Invitational this Saturday, November 20, beginning at 8:00 p.m.

News & Notes:  Scranton has won six straight and is now 32-5 in season-openers, including 28-3 under veteran head coach Mike Strong…Kopecki moved into 10th place on the Lady Royals's all-time scoring list with 1,301 points…Scranton now holds a 6-1 lead in the all-time series with Montclair State.

Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 58, MONTCLAIR ST. 46

MONTCLAIR ST. (0-1)
Devin Feeney 4-7 0-0 11; Kisandra Ayanbeku 4-12 0-0 9; Rhonda Sharif 4-11 0-1 8; Theresa Towns 3-8 0-2 7; Jaime Ericson 2-5 0-0 4; Taylor Jeffers 1-2 1-2 3; Deonna Overton 1-4 0-0 2; Colleen Kelly 1-2 0-0 2; Sara Kelley 0-2 0-0 0; Alyssa Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Kathryn Lamastra 0-0 0-0 0; Michelle Montagna 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 1-5 46.

SCRANTON (1-0)
Megan Kopecki 6-15 2-2 15; Jennifer King 4-10 1-2 11; Colleen McLane 1-6 5-6 8; Katie Cunningham 3-3 0-2 7; Courtney Roselle 3-4 0-0 7; Sarah Gage 2-11 1-2 5; Tayler Pallotta 1-3 1-2 3; Shernai Bentley 1-2 0-0 2; KC Hawkes 0-1 0-0 0; Alison Sweeney 0-2 0-0 0; Sidney Jaques 0-0 0-0 0; Katherine Torto 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 10-16 58.