WASHINGTON - The Catholic University of America women’s basketball team fell 62-50 in its Landmark Conference matchup with No. 17 the University of Scranton on Saturday afternoon.

Catholic senior Briana Bull recorded a team-high 15 points as she and sophomores Caroline Sullivan and Sydney Poindexter were perfect from the free throw line. Bull also registered a game-high six steals while sophomore Mollie Reynolds tallied three.

Catholic head coach Matt Donohue utilized nine bench players as he looked to hand the nationally ranked Royals their second loss of the 2017-18 season. The Catholic reserves outscored Scranton's bench 17-8, but the Cardinals came up short at the final buzzer.

The league rivals fought back-and-forth with 10 lead changes during the weekend matchup. A last-minute jumper in the third period gave the Royal a 41-40 lead heading into the final 10-minutes and they carried the momentum into the final quarter to outscore the Cards 21-10 for the 12-point victory.

Scranton opened the game on a 9-5 run through the first media timeout. The Cardinals picked up speed and a buzzer-beating layup from Bull brought them within two points (16-14) of the Royals at the end of the first quarter.

With the energy on Catholic’s side, Reynolds started the second period with a basket from long range to give the Cardinals a one-point advantage. The Royals managed a good layup a before a foul shot from senior Samantha Cowan tied the game at 18 apiece. Two good free throws from Sullivan put Catholic back on top, but the Royals tied the game at 20 then hit back-to-back three points to gain a significant lead.

The Cardinals fought back as the Royals were only able to outshoot them 15-14 in the quarter to take a 31-28 lead at the halftime break.

During the third quarter, Bull knocked down eight points to help the Cardinal outshoot their nationally ranked opponent 12-10.

Bull’s layup with just over three minutes to play in the third gave Catholic its first lead of the period (38-37). She sunk one more jumper in the quarter to give the Cardinals a three-point advantage before the Royals regained control of the final minute.

The Royals put a stop to the Catholic offense, who was able to score in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Reynolds hit a three-point shot with five and a half minutes to play but the Royal took advantage of their eight-point cushion and finished out the game strong to advance their season record to 16-1.

The Cardinals, now 12-5 for the season, are set to host Landmark opponent Susquehanna University on Wednesday, January 24. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., on Franny Murray Court.

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