THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON – The Lady Royals defeated the Division I University of Pittsburgh Panthers, 69-63, in an exhibition game on Sunday afternoon at the Peterson Events Center. This marks one of the program’s most notable upsets in recent years, with ESPN’s win probability model giving the Royals a 0.1% chance to win, a projection Scranton defied.

Senior guard Kaci Kranson said that the Royals took the game one play at a time.

“We kind of didn’t know that we had them on the ropes, we were trying to keep our composure, take it play by play, and I feel like that’s what we did, and I think that’s what helped us win that game,” Kranson said.

The bulk of the production came from the three-point line, as the Royals made 10 threes, shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc and 40.9% from the field. Junior, Elizabeth Bennett led the Lady Royals in point production as she scored her season high in points with 15, also contributing five rebounds and two blocks.

Another notable contributor was first-year student, Sophia Talutto, who contributed 14 points and four assists. Talutto said that playing at such a prestigious institution was a surreal experience, where she led the team in her on-court production,but also demonstrated her calmness and leadership before and during the game; rare quality among first-year athletes.

This led to Talutto scoring eight of her 14 points in the final period of the game, and she came up clutch to secure the victory for Scranton.

“I think just keeping my calm throughout the entire game, like even though I'm a freshman, I feel like I didn’t really make it seem like I was a freshman. I just kind of had to act like I’ve been there before, even though I haven’t, so I think keeping my composure throughout the entire game and like keeping confidence with myself and my teammates, kind of proved that I could be on the court in those types of situations,” Talutto said.

For Talutto’s efforts against Pitt, she was awarded her first Peggy’s Scranton Athlete of the Week, for her contributions against Pitt and against New Jersey City University, where she led the team in points with 15, with nine of them coming from three pointers.

Talutto said that although the game was an upset, the team deserved to be there from the hard work they put in practice and training for this moment.

“I think like going in, we all just have a lot of confidence within ourselves. Obviously, it was a surprising win to the world, but I don’t think it was a surprise of a win to our own team because we know how hard we work and what happens behind the scenes,” Talutto said.

After the victory, the sports social media world posted the game and highlights, giving The Lady Royals recognition not only in Pennsylvania, but across the country. Accounts like ESPN, The New York Times, Overtime and Bleacher Report would go on to post about The Lady Royals, which brought unprecedented visibility to the team, showcasing their skill, team chemistry, and resilience to audiences far beyond local fans.

Kaci Kranson, said the upset victory and the media coverage were such a cool experience and something that the team will never forget.

“We were on the bus coming home from the game, and one of the girls yelled something like ‘oh my god, we were posted on ESPN,' and we all started freaking out. Like a small little DIII school in Scranton made it to the big stage. It’s something cool, I don’t think we’ll ever forget this moment, but it’s something that we all did together collectively, every single girl on the team, every coach, it was a big team win,” Kranson said.

Kranson was named D3hoops.com 2025-2026 preseason women’s All-America team on Oct. 29, because of her standout Junior season, where she averaged 17.3 points per game, and 5.6 rebounds per game, and emerged as one of the most consistent two-way players in the Landmark Conference and the entirety of Division III women’s basketball. Kranson said she cannot be the player she is if it were not for her teammates and coaches. The team shares a collective motto that they carry throughout games and in practice, “Every rep, every drill, every day.”

Kranson said that the team’s culture and identity set the Lady Royals apart, adding that their depth and new talent give them a great chance at securing an 11^th straight Landmark Conference championship and make some noise in the NCAA tournament come March.

In the Landmark Conference preseason poll, the Lady Royals were given nine first-place votes out of ten.

“There is something special. Everyone has their unique abilities to themselves, and that’s every single girl on the team. I feel like right now we are just trying to combine that into one good collective group that’s playing out there, and I think we’re trying to establish that team chemistry early on so it’s easier when we get into the Landmarks starting this week. I do think this is a special team that we have, and I’m really hoping that we can keep this momentum going throughout the season,” Kranson said.

The Royals will play Landmark Conference opponent, Goucher College, in the John Long Center on Saturday at 4 p.m.