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University of Scranton women's basketball falls in national championship, ends historic season with 32-1 record

University of Scranton senior guard Kaeli Romanowski moves the ball down the court during Saturday's national championship game.
Courtesy of the University of Scranton
University of Scranton senior guard Kaeli Romanowski moves the ball down the court during Saturday's national championship game.

The University of Scranton women's basketball team, seeking a national championship and an undefeated season, couldn't overcome poor shooting on Saturday.

Denison University beat the Lady Royals 55-41, as the school from Ohio earned its first Division III basketball championship.

The Lady Royals had shot 46% on the season, but only made 20% of their shots on Saturday at the Cregger Center at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.

The Royals sought their first undefeated season in program history and their first national championship since 1985.

Scranton snapped New York University's 91-game winning streak during Thursday's Final Four.

The Royals on Saturday played a dismal second quarter — unlike the rest of the season — as they failed to hit a field goal and went into halftime down 19-11. They began to show life in the third, leading 34-33 at the end of three.

Kaci Kranson, who earned First Team All-America honors for the season — a recognition announced Saturday morning — scored her 2,000th collegiate career point in the third quarter.

But Denison retook control in the fourth quarter, going on a 10-0 run. The Big Red never looked back.

Head coach Ben O'Brien was named the D3hoops.com National Coach of the Year on Saturday. Senior guard Kaeli Romanowski was selected to the Fifth Team. The loss was only O'Brien's seventh in his four seasons.

Sarah Hofius Hall has covered education in Northeast Pennsylvania for almost two decades. She visits the region's classrooms and reports on issues important to students, teachers, families and taxpayers. Her reporting ranges from covering controversial school closure plans and analyzing test scores to uncovering wasteful spending and highlighting the inspirational work done by the region's educators. Her work has been recognized by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Society of Professional Journalists and Pennsylvania Women's Press Association.

You can email Sarah at sarahhall@wvia.org
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