Moravian Off to Best Start Since 2006 with Win Over Eastern

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College women's basketball team defeated Eastern University, 61-43, Tuesday night. The Greyhounds improve to 7-0 with its victory for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Junior guard Danielle Brogan would get the first bucket for Moravian of the game with a three from the corner two minutes in. Sophomore forward Meghan Nowak answered with a layup and three to give Eastern a 5-3 lead four and a half minutes in. Nowak continued her run with a baseline jumper to push the Eagles lead to 7-3. Junior forward Laura Jordan ended the Eagles run with a layup to make the score 7-5 with 13:30 to play in the half.

Sophomore forward Alexis Wright knotted the game at seven after powering through for the layup with 11:27 remaining in the first half. Wright then came back with an offensive board and another layup to give the Hounds a 9-7 lead. Nowak responded with a layup of her own to tie the contest back up. Senior guard Amanda Kreuder drove to the hoop for the layup while getting fouled with 9:40 left in the half. She converted on the free throw to put Moravian up 12-9.

A three-pointer from sophomore guard Kelsie Patton brought Eastern within two points at the 6:40 mark. Jordan then hit a layup after an offensive rebound, but Nowak drilled a three at the other end to make the score 16-15, Moravian.

Jordan then went a 5-0 run after two layups and free throw for the 21-15 lead with 4:40 to play. Both teams exchanged scores until Brogan put the Hounds up by six after a deep three-pointer for the 28-22 lead. Moravian would take that lead into the locker room.

The Greyhounds shot 38-percent from the field while holding Eastern to 28-percent from the field. Moravian out rebounded the Eagles 22-20. Jordan led the way at the half with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a block while Nowak led Eastern with 12 points and three boards.

Brogan would tally the first basket of the second half off a fast break layup. Kreuder then drove to the hoop for the tough layup while getting fouled. She converted the free throw for a 35-22 lead. Wright added a layup of her own for the 37-22 lead two and a half minutes in. Sophomore guard Gina DiDomenico ended the Greyhounds 9-0 run with a three-pointer. Kreuder then went for a layup, but another three from DiDomenico made the score 39-28, Moravian with 16:24 to play.

A steal from Wright led to a layup from freshman forward Alesha Marcks to put Moravian up 46-28 seven minutes into the second half. Free throws from sophomore guard Kaleigh Boreman and a layup from Nowak made the score 46-32, Moravian with 11:42 left in the game.

With 8:55 to play, Kreuder took the ball coast-to-coast for the lay-in to put Moravian up 53-34. Boreman than took the ball to the hoop while getting fouled. She made the basket and the free throw for the three-point play to make the score 53-37 with 7:20 remaining in the game. Moravian would hold its lead in the remaining minutes as they would win, 61-43.

Wright finished the game with her fifth double-double of the season off of 11 points and 13 rebounds while collecting three steals. Kreuder had a team-high 12 points to go with her six rebounds while Jordan added 11 points, nine boards and two blocks. O'Rourke put up eight points, five rebounds and four assists while Brogan had eight points and three steals. Marcks added five points while freshman guard Karine Polgar had two steals, two assists, two rebounds and a block.

Nowak led the Eagles with 18 points and seven rebounds. Boreman collected seven boards to go with her eight points while sophomore forward Reilly Gavitt had eight rebounds and four points.

Moravian shot 43-percent from the field while Eastern shot 25-percent from the field. The Greyhounds held the rebounding advantage, 42-38, while committing two less turnovers.

Moravian returns to the court on Saturday, December 8th as they host Landmark Conference foe The United States Merchant Marine Academy. It's Parent's Day and the Toy Drive for the Greyhounds as the contest is set for 2 p.m.