University of Scranton’s Sophia Talutto moves the ball during NCAA DIII first-round game against Framingham State at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Friday, March 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Katie Gorski of the University of Scranton goes in for a layup against NYU during the NCAA Division III semifinal game Thursday night in Salem, Virginia.
University of Scranton’s Meghan Lamanna high fives her teammates as she runs onto the court before the NCAA Division III second round game against Otterbein at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Saturday, March 07, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
University of Scranton’s Kaci Kranson takes a free throw shot during the NCAA Division III second round game against Otterbein at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Saturday, March 07, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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University of Scranton’s Sophia Talutto moves the ball during NCAA DIII first-round game against Framingham State at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Friday, March 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SALEM, Virginia — Kaeli Romanowski had another big performance Saturday in the NCAA Division III championship game that earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.
However, the University of Scranton senior wasn’t in the mood for individual accolades.
“We wanted the natty,” Romanowski said. “I’m just incredibly grateful for my teammates. Nothing would be possible without them. We wouldn’t even be here without them. I’m just so grateful for the coaches, my teammates and the entire athletic department.”
The Lady Royals came up one win shy, losing the final to Denison University, 55-41, at Roanoke College’s Cregger Center.
Romanowski had nine points and 17 rebounds, which tied Anne Crossin in 1982 for the fourth-most by a Lady Royal in an NCAA tournament game. That followed up her 14-point, 16-rebound, five-steal game in the semifinal win over NYU.
Meghan Lamanna and Kaci Kranson scored 10 points each. Kranson also hit a milestone in the game. Her 3-pointer with 38.7 seconds left in the third quarter put her over the 2,000 career-point mark (2,002).
That didn’t matter, either.
What mattered was the Lady Royals struggled against Denison’s size, particularly 6-foot-3 sophomore Anelly Mad-toingué, who had eight points, 16 rebounds and three blocks. Her presence inside forced Scranton to look to score from the outside and it shot 14 for 69 (20.3 percent), including 7 of 36 from 3-point range (19.4). Denison also held a 58-50 rebounding edge and outscored the Lady Royals in the paint, 30-10.
“What was presented to us throughout the game was some 3-point opportunities by some very good 3-point shooters on our team while at the same time you have 6-3, in the middle, making it hard to get shots around the basket,” Scranton coach Ben O’Brien said. “Against this team, you’re going to have to make some perimeter shots because of how they defend the paint and the size that they have. It was just one of those games where we didn’t make enough of those to ultimately capitalize on some of the opportunities that we had.”
Two scoring droughts doomed the Lady Royals. The first came in the second quarter where they managed just one point and shot 0 for 17, including 0 of 7 from 3-point range. Their defense kept them in the game and the Lady Royals trailed, 19-11, at halftime.
Still, that was the largest deficit the Lady Royals faced all season. They were down by seven points 6½ minutes into the season opener at SUNY-Geneseo and won by 25 points. They also trailed the University of Pittsburgh in their exhibition game in November by seven points early in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 69-63 win.
In the third quarter, though, an early 9-0 run got Scranton back into the game and Lamanna’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave it a 34-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“Credit to Denison. Their defense was very, very tough,” Kranson said. “They came out strong, throwing the first punch. At halftime, we kind of settled in and took a deep breath and went back to the way we played all season. I felt we were taking a lot of open 3s in the first half and they weren’t falling for us. We wanted to get in the paint, maybe draw some fouls. That’s kind of what our mindset was going into the second half.”
Elizabeth Bennett’s 3-pointer with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter gave the Lady Royals a 39-36 lead. But that’s when they endured their second offensive dry spell, missing 12 of their last 13 shots and committing four turnovers. Denison closed the game on a 19-2 run to pull away to the title.
“It was just a credit to them. They made big shots when they needed to at the right time,” O’Brien said.
While the outcome stung, it still was a remarkable season for the Lady Royals (32-1). There was the upset win over Pitt. An 11th straight Landmark Conference championship. A trip to the program’s 11th Final Four.
Now, they must move ahead without Kranson and Romanowski.
“They are two of the best players to ever play at Scranton,” O’Brien said. “There’s a list of some pretty incredible players historically at Scranton and these two are right up there. They’re once-in-a-lifetime type of players on the court, off the court and in the locker room with their teammates and how they lead. … I’m just incredibly proud of them. I feel very grateful and fortunate to have been along for the ride for two of the best to ever do it at Scranton. They’re going to be greatly missed on the court, for sure, but more missed in the locker room because they’re incredible leaders.
“They’re going to be rock stars in the next chapter of their life.”
Senior Jenna Sloan also won’t be back next season.
However, the Lady Royals will have starters Lamanna — who played all 40 minutes in both games at the Final Four and totaled a team-high 28 points — and Katie Gorski back, as well as the first two players off the bench, Bennett and Sophia Talutto. A group of talented sophomores and freshmen, who saw plenty of action in blowout wins this season, will be ready to take their turn.
“We try to win every game that we play,” O’Brien said. “Whenever that next game is, we’re going to put everything we have into it with our group. That’s never going to change. I don’t think it will be a retribution, so to speak. But like this game, we put everything we had into it. We poured it all in and we’ll continue to do that.”