BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior forward Alexandra Blair led Moravian to a 62-46 victory over Landmark Conference rival Susquehanna University. Blair recorded her eighth double-double of the season off of 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Greyhounds (13-8, 6-4 Landmark) have now won six of their last eight conference games.
Freshman guard Jonaida Williams would get the Crusaders (4-17, 1-9 Landmark) on the board first with a jumper from the corner, but sophomore guard Katie O'Rourke answered right back with a layup to knot the game at two early.
Freshman forward Alexis Wright would put Moravian up 8-6 after an offensive rebound with 14 minutes left in the first half. Sophomore guard Danielle Brogan would hit a three-pointer, followed by a jumper from senior guard Hilary Murray to take a 13-6 lead with 13 minutes to go in the half.
Senior guard Samantha Pelletier would put a stop to the Greyhounds streak with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 13-9. With just under ten minutes remaining in the half, sophomore guard Laura Casey would drill a three from the corner to give the Hounds a 17-10 lead. After a layup from Wright, Moravian would extend its lead to 13 points at 23-10 with 7:27 left in the half.
A jumper from Williams and junior guard Shannon Grunwald on the next possession would cut the Susquehanna's deficit to eight points at 23-15 with 6:50 remaining in the first half. Williams would drive to the basket and make the bucket while drawing the foul. She would convert the free throw to make the score 23-18, Moravian.
Blair would send a pass through two defenders to Brogan, who made the easy layup. Blair would come back on the next possession with a jumper to put Moravian up 29-18 with under four minutes to go in the half. The Greyhounds would take a 31-22 lead into the locker room.
Moravian shot 38-percent from the field while Susquehanna shot 31-percent from the field in the first half. The Greyhounds held the rebounding advantage at 25 to 14, but the Crusaders had one less turnover at halftime. Blair led Moravian at the half with six points and eight rebounds while Williams led Susquehanna with eight points.
Wright would get the Hounds going quickly in the second half with a layup eight seconds in. Blair would follow that up with a layup and then Murray with a jumper to give Moravian a 37-22 lead one minute into the half.
Freshman guard Eleni Dimou would end the Hounds streak with a three-pointer from the corner, and classmate guard Nora Joyce would hit a jumper to make the score 37-27, two and half minutes in. Moravian would then go on a 6-1 run with points from O'Rourke and Blair to go up 43-28 with 15:26 remaining in the contest.
At the 13 minute mark, Brogan would line up the three and nail it to go up 46-31. The Crusaders would get back within single-digits of the lead after a block by senior guard Korey McCaffrey, which set up a three-pointer for Grunwald to make the score 46-38, Moravian with 11 minutes to go.
After an offensive rebound from Blair, she would get the put back to put the Greyhounds back up 52-40 with just under nine minutes left in the game. With 6:31 remaining, Murray would get the steal and hit a jumper from the corner to make the score 54-42. Wright would then get a steal on the next possession and drive it all the way to hole for a 14 point lead.
Susquehanna would cut its deficit to 12 points with 2:32 to play after a steal from Joyce and a layup from Williams. That would be all the Crusaders had left as the Greyhounds would cruise to a 62-46 victory.
Wright finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds while Murray had eight points, six boards and three steals. Brogan had eight points and four rebounds while sophomore forward Laura Jordan finished with eight points.
Williams led Susquehanna with 16 points and five rebounds while Grunwald totaled 11 points and four steals.
The Greyhounds shot 37-percent from the field while the Crusaders shot 29-percent from the field for the game. Moravian out rebounded Susquehanna 55 to 31, but the Crusaders had three less turnovers.
Moravian returns to action tomorrow February 4th as they host the Play 4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness Games against Landmark Conference foe #13 Juniata College. The contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. An alumni game will be played prior to the game, starting at 12 p.m.
