WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Catholic University women's basketball team downed Susquehanna on Thursday, 83-70, to advance to the Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday.
A monster performance from Anna Scoblick powered the Cardinals past the River Hawks in a game that was tight throughout. No. 10 Catholic held a four-point advantage at halftime before a 7-2 run to open the second half forced a Susquehanna timeout. Catholic made the next two shots out of the timeout to extend the lead to 13.
Susquehanna continued to battle, cutting the deficit to seven multiple times but the Cardinals saw out the game behind strong play from all five starters.
Scoblick continued her monster season, securing a double-double in the first half. She entered the locker room with 16 points and 10 rebounds, adding eight points in the second half to finish with a career-high 24. It's the sophomore's fifth double-double of the year.
Carly Mulvaney also had a big game for the Cardinals, dropping 19 points while grabbing three rebounds, forcing three steals and handing out three assists. Keegan Douglas and Kerry Flaherty each contributed with 11 points while Sarah White pitched in with nine points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Alexa Kenah provided great minutes off of the bench, scoring six points and dropping six rebounds in 18 minutes.
Kaitlyn Lynch was big for the River Hawks with 17 points while Zoie Maffei was big off the bench, scoring 14 points while grabbing seven rebounds, handing out two assists and blocking two shots.
Catholic outscored Susquehanna 34-24 in the painted area and the Cardinals shot free throws at a high level, going 17-of-18 from the free-throw line. Matt Donohue's team forced 15 River Hawk turnovers and turned them into 21 points.
The win sets up a massive match-up with No. 7 Scranton in the Landmark Conference Championship. The Cardinals and the Royals split the regular season series after Catholic produced a massive fourth-quarter comeback to take down Scranton in overtime earlier this season on Franny Murray Court. The Royals got payback with a five-point win in Scranton.
The two teams have a storied history, having met in the conference championship game seven times in the last 10 seasons. Scranton has won the last five meetings in the title game with Catholic's last win coming 52-51 in the 2014-15 championship game. Catholic has not hosted the final since 2016-17.
The two teams are set to meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The women's game will be preceded by the men's championship when Catholic hosts Susquehanna at 2 p.m.
