ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- No. 15 Scranton outscored the Elizabethtown College women's basketball team by 13 in the third quarter, which proved to be the difference in the game as the Royals downed the Blue Jays Saturday afternoon at Thompson Gymnasium, 61-48. Bridget Monaghan had a game-high 21 points for Scranton. Lydia Lawson and Angie Hawkins each had 16 apiece for E-town in the loss.

Elizabethtown (10-8, 6-2 Landmark) missed on its first six shots of the game while Scranton (16-3, 6-2 Landmark) went on a 10-0 run over the first 3:45 of the first. Veronica Christ dished to Hawkins, who hit the elbow jumper to break the scoreless drought for E-town.

Down 14-2 with a little less than half the quarter to go, the Blue Jays went on an 8-0 run to get back into it at 14-10, capped off by Lawson's jumper in the paint. Hawkins and Lawson both had four points to account for the run as the Jays trailed by four with 1:11 left in the first. The Royals took a 16-11 lead into the second.

Lawson was fouled on a transition layup attempt and sank both to keep it at a four-point contest, 18-14. A few moments later, Makenzie Mason and Sofia Recupero hit back-to-back jumpers to extend the lead back up to nine points. Mason's basket was from beyond the arc and forced an Elizabethtown timeout.

The Blue Jays fought back from an 11-point deficit in the second to get within four once more. Mikayla Ruth drained a three and then Hawkins connected on a pair at the foul line as Scranton led 26-22 with 2:23 remaining in the first half. A three from Monaghan was the final bucket of the quarter and the Royals led by seven at the break, 29-22.

Scranton got the lead back into double digits early on in the third, though Christ's three-pointer from the wing got it back under ten, 33-25. The Royals responded, going on a 10-1 run over the next couple of minutes. Emily Sheehan's trey gave Scranton a 17-point advantage, 43-26. On the next possession, Rachel Christman passed off to Hawkins, who knocked down a three of her own.

The Royals ended the third on a 6-0 run and took a 20-point lead, 49-29, into the fourth as they held E-town to just seven third-quarter points.

The Blue Jays battled back despite trailing by as many as 25 in the fourth. Clare Marchese kick-started a 12-0 run for E-town with a jumper from just inside the arc at the top of the key. Christ grabbed an offensive rebound and her put-back was good to make it a 54-33 game. Then, after a technical was assessed to Scranton, Lawson hit both of the free throw attempts and on the Jays' possession, swished in a three-pointer. After an offensive foul committed by the Royals, Christ sank a three as well and Elizabethtown went from being down 25 to trailing by 13, 54-41, with 5:08 remaining in regulation.

The deficit was a little too large to make up, however. Hawkins' three with 1:04 to go got E-town within 11, but they would get no closer as the Royals went on to beat the Jays, 61-48.

Elizabethtown will host Catholic on Wednesday, February 5, at Thompson Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. tip-off.