Scranton’s Kaeli Romanowski shoots a 3-pointer against Mount Saint Mary in the first round of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament Friday at the John Long Center in Scranton. (TIM DREWES / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON)
Marywood’s Olivia Ciullo prepares to take a shot during a home basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The University of Scranton’s Jon Spatola controls the ball while defended by Kings’ Ben Rodner-Tims during a basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.
(Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Scranton’s Sammy Tornabene pivots with the ball during the Landmark Conference first round playoff game in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton’s Kaeli Romanowski shoots a 3-pointer against Mount Saint Mary in the first round of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament Friday at the John Long Center in Scranton. (TIM DREWES / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON)
College basketball season tips off for local teams this weekend.
Once again, the University of Scranton women will be one of the top teams in NCAA Division III. The Lady Royals are ranked No. 2 in the d3hoops.com preseason Top 25 poll and No. 4 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association preseason Top 25. Two-time defending national champion NYU is No. 1 in both polls.
Twelve players are back from last year’s team that went 29-2 overall, won its 10th straight Landmark Conference championship and reached the Elite Eight for the second straight season before losing to Wisconsin-Stout, 81-77.
Headlining the returnees for coach Ben O’Brien is senior and Holy Cross graduate Kaci Kranson, who is a d3hoops.com preseason first-team All-American. Last season, Kranson averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in earning Landmark Conference Player of the Year and d3hoops.com second-team All-American honors.
Senior and Western Wayne graduate Kaeli Romanowski, senior Jenna Sloan and juniors Elizabeth Bennett, Katie Gorski and Meghan Lamanna are other top returnees. Five freshmen could also see playing time, including Dunmore grad Sophia Talutto, last year’s Times-Tribune Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Scranton has a daunting start to its season. It opens Friday at 6 p.m. at SUNY-Geneseo, which is ranked No. 22 in the d3hoops.com preseason poll and was a “Sweet 16” team last season. Then it visits SUNY-Cortland, which is No. 7 in the d3hoops.com preseason poll and No. 23 in the WBCA preseason poll, on Tuesday. Also, on Nov. 16, the Lady Royals are playing an exhibition game at the University of Pittsburgh, where former Lady Royals standout Abby Anderson is an assistant coach.
Landmark Conference rivals Catholic University (No. 19 d3hoops.com, No. 8 WBCA) and Elizabethtown College (No. 22 WBCA) are ranked in the preseason polls as well.
“Right away, we’re going to get tested and get a good sense of where we are as a team right now,” O’Brien said. “And the conference this year is going to be really strong with a lot of great players coming back and a lot of very strong teams. I suspect the conference is going to be really challenging for our team.”
Marywood University women’s team kicks off its season Friday at 7 p.m. at the Messiah Tournament against the host school. It will then face either Nazareth or St. Vincent’s on Saturday.
The Pacers are coming off a 13-14 season that saw them lose in the Atlantic East Conference semifinals. They are ranked fifth in the league’s preseason coaches poll.
Among the top returnees for coach Tara Macciocco is graduate student Olivia Ciullo. The Old Forge product averaged 13.2 points and 8.1 rebounds in earning first-team all-conference. Dunmore graduate Mia Blume and Megan Cavoli, both seniors, are other top returnees. Plus, Anyah Ortiz, who averaged 13.7 points in 51 games the past two seasons at Keystone College, has transferred to Marywood.
Keystone opens Saturday at 2 p.m. at Haverford College. The Lady Giants were 16-10 last season and lost in the first round of the United East Conference playoffs.
Ben Arsenault, a 2012 Keystone graduate, takes over as head coach at his alma mater. He has a roster that has 13 freshmen on it. The Lady Giants are picked to finish 10th in the conference’s preseason coaches poll.
Lackawanna College opened its season last weekend with a lost to Niagara County Community College. The Lady Falcons are coached by first-year Darnell Ford. He takes over a team that was 17-8 last season and lost in the NJCAA Region 19 Division II semifinals to Harcum College. Top returnees include Alania Ortiz and Dunmore grad Sophia Summa.
Men
After consecutive losing seasons, the University of Scranton will look to get back to its winning ways. The Royals open Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the John Long Center against Lehman College in the semifinals of the Hilton Scranton Invitational. DeSales and Neumann meet in the other semifinal. Consolation and championship games are Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m., respectively.
Coach Carl Danzig (418-214) is back for his 25th season. The roster boasts three seniors, including point guard Jon Spatola, four juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. Among the sophomores is Abington Heights graduate Will Marion and Sammy Tornabene, last year’s Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year.
Michel Loftin, Shilo Bivins and Collin Himmelberg are among the top returnees for coach Jon Showers at Marywood. The Pacers open at the Nazareth Tournament in Rochester, New York, against Clarkson on Friday at 6 p.m. They then will play either Nazareth or Medgar Evers on Saturday.
Last season, Marywood was 14-13 overall and lost in the Atlantic East Conference semifinals. It is tabbed fourth in the league’s preseason coaches poll.
Justin Stern takes over at Keystone College, which begins Saturday at the Vermont State University Tipoff Classic against VTSU-Lyndon. It then will play either VTSU-Johnson or VTSU-Randolph on Sunday.
The Giants were 13-11 last season, losing in the United East quarterfinals. They were tied for eighth in the conference’s preseason coaches poll. Four players are back, led by senior guard Kamdyn Ayers.
At the Niagara Tipoff Classic last weekend, Lackawanna split to start its season 1-1. The Falcons were scheduled to play Penn State-Hazleton on Thursday, then head to Syracuse, New York, for the Lazer Tipoff Classic for games Saturday against Jefferson Community College and Sunday against Onondaga Community College.
Kirk Fallon is in his third season as head coach. Last year, Lackawanna was 16-15 overall, losing in the Region 19 final to Raritan Valley Community College, 76-75. Top returnees include Noah Elias, Noah McIntosh, Elijah Smith, Robert Bell and Xavier Spears.