BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College women's basketball team, #2 seed, defeated #7 seed Centenary College, 77-57, in the ECAC Division III South Quarterfinals on Wednesday evening. F reshman forward Alexis Wright and sophomore guard Katie O'Rourke both recorded a double-double. Wright had 17 points and 13 rebounds while O'Rourke tallied 12 points and ten boards.
Senior guard Hilary Murray would hit the deep three-pointer to start the contest for Moravian (16-11). Junior forward Danielle Trucksess answered back with a deep two for the Cyclones. The Greyhounds would go on a 6-0 run with points from senior forward Alexandra Blair, Murray and Wright to go up 9-2, three minutes into the contest.
Centenary (14-12) would go on a 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from freshman forward Andrea Innis, to put them up 11-9 with 15:38 to play in the half. Sophomore guard O'Rourke then drove to the hole for the tough layup to end the Cyclones run, and knot the game at 11. Classmate guard Danielle Brogan would retake the lead for Moravian, at 14-13, with a layup a minute later.
After a couple of possessions that led to zero points on the board, O'Rourke would end the drought with a jumper from the corner to put Moravian up 18-14 with ten minutes remaining in the half. Junior guard Amanda Kreuder (Stanhope, NJ/Morris Catholic) would drive to the bucket for an easy lay-in for a 21-14 lead with 8:42 left in the first half.
Senior guard Jen Vasta would respond with a layup of her own to end the Cyclones scoreless streak while cutting its deficit to five points at 21-16. Trucksess would bring Centenary within three points at 23-20 with six minutes left in the half, but sophomore forward Laura Jordan answered with a jumper to put the lead back at five points.
After a jumper from Vasta, Kreuder followed that up with a layup after grabbing the offensive rebounds to make the score 32-26 with three minutes to play in the first. Another jumper from Vasta, and two free throws made by senior forward Hannah Ally would bring the Cyclones within two points of the lead at 32-20 with 1:45 remaining in the half. Both teams would exchange baskets to end the half as the Greyhounds took a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
Centenary shot 38-percent from the field while Moravian shot 28-percent from the field in the first half. The Cyclones committed three less turnovers while the Greyhounds held the rebounding edge at 36 to 18 in the first half. O'Rourke led Moravian with ten points and five boards while Vasta led Centenary with 12 points.
Wright would get the first points of the second half with a layup while getting fouled. She would convert the free throw for the three-point play. That would be the start of a 10-0 run for the Greyhounds with points from Wright, Blair and O'Rourke for a 45-34 lead, four minutes into the second half.
Innis would hit the Cyclones first field goal of the second half seven minutes in to cut their deficit to 11 points at 48-37. A layup from junior forward Kristen Ceniscacelya would bring Centenary within ten points at 53-43 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
Kreuder would nail two free throws to keep the Greyhounds lead at double-digits at 59-45 with nine minutes left in the contest. Innis would answer with a jumper, but Wright hit a layup on the next possession to make the score 61-47 with 7:48 remaining.
Ally would bring the Cyclones within ten points at 63-53 after a jumper with five minutes left in the game. Murray responded with a break-away layup a minute later with make the score 65-53. Blair would then hit a turnaround jumper to put Moravian up 70-55 with 3:20 left in the contest. That would be all the Cyclones had, as the Greyhounds would go onto win 77-57.
Blair finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks while Murray had 11 points and eight boards. Jordan totaled ten points and six rebounds while Kreuder had six points and boards.
Vasta led the Cyclones with 16 points and four rebounds while Trucksess finished with 14 points and four boards. Innis totaled nine points and seven rebounds on the night while Ally had six points and five boards.
Moravian shot 30-percent from the field while Centenary shot 27-percent from the field for the contest. The Greyhounds held the rebounding edge at 66 to 44 while the Cyclones committed four less turnovers.
Moravian will host the semifinals and finals of the ECAC Tournament this weekend on March 3rd and 4th at Johnston Hall. The Greyhounds will take on #6 seed Penn State-Behrend at 4 p.m. in the semifinals. #1 seed Medaille College will take on #5 seed Bethany College at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals. The winners of those two games will play each other in the championship game on Sunday.
