BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seed Swarthmore College women's basketball team took a 38-36 halftime lead on a jumper from sophomore forward Elle Larsen and would keep the lead the rest of the game to earn a 67-62 win over top seed and host Moravian College to captured the 2013 ECAC Division III South Tournament Championship Sunday in Johnston Hall.
The Garnet captured their first ECAC South Championship in their third appearance in the tournament, and Swarthmore finishes the season at 23-7 with just two graduating players. Junior guard Katie Lytle was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after 34 points and 26 rebounds in the semifinals and finals.
Moravian completed the 2012-13 campaign with a 22-7 record, and the Greyhounds were the runner-up in the ECAC Tournament for the seventh time in 14 trips to the tournament. Moravian also has just two graduating players.
Moravian would take a 2-0 lead on their second possession of the game with sophomore forward Alexis Wright scoring on a lay-up. Senior guard Madeline Ross scored on a lay-up to tie the game for Swarthmore, and Ross connected on a three-pointer at 17:52 to put the Garnet ahead 5-2. Larsen scored her first basket of the game at 16:54 after a three-point play by Ross to give Swarthmore at 10-2 lead.
Junior guard Danielle Brogan hit a three-pointer for the Greyhounds to snap the 10-0 Swarthmore run, and Moravian pulled within a point, 14-13, on a three-point play by Wright at the 14:05 mark. The Greyhounds moved back in front on a steal and lay-up by freshman guard Steph Peterson, and Moravian had a 21-17 advantage after a jumper from freshman forward Alesha Marcks with 9:27 to play in the first half.
Swarthmore tied the game again at 22-22 on a three-pointer by senior guard Eliza Polli but Wright would hit a lay-up on the next possession to put Moravian back in front. The teams would trade the lead until Moravian had a 36-34 lead with a minute left in the first half after a lay-up by junior guard Katie O'Rourke. However, a lay-up by Ross and Larsen's jumper would send the Garnet to the locker room with a 38-36 lead.
Moravian had a the hotter shooting hand in the opening 20 minutes of the game as the Greyhounds connected on 16-of-35 field goal attempts (45.7 percent), two-of-seven three-pointers and two-of-three free throws. Moravian had seven turnovers in the first half while Swarthmore committee nine turnovers. The Garnet had a 27-18 edge in rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive boards. Swarthmore was 15-for-39 (38.5 percent) from the floor, five-for-15 on three-pointers and three-for-six at the foul line in the first half.
Lytle opening the scoring in the second half for Swarthmore with five straight points as the Garnet built a 43-36 lead with 17:24 left in the contest. Junior forward Laura Jordan would get the Greyhounds on the board with a lay-up at 16:44, and Moravian scored six straight points to pull within one, 43-42, on a Wright jumper with 14:24 remaining.
The Garnet responded and pushed the lead back to six points on a three-point play by Larsen with 11:49 on the clock; however, Moravian answered back again and pulled within one again on a lay-up by O'Rourke at 10:16.
The Greyhounds were down 54-53 after a pair of O'Rourke free throws at 9:22 but Swarthmore would go on a 7-0 run to take a 61-53 lead on a lay-up by Ross with 7:11 to go. Moravian fought back one more time, pulling within two points, 64-62, on an O'Rourke lay-up with 36 seconds to play. However, Swarthmore junior guard Kayla Moritzky would go to the foul line and make a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
The Garnet connected on 11-of-30 field goal attempts (36.7 percent), one-of-seven three-pointers and six-of-nine free throws in the final 20 minutes of the game. Swarthmore finished the contest with a 49-38 advantage in rebounds, and the Garnet had 14 turnovers while Moravian committed ten turnovers. The Greyhounds struggled to shoot the ball in the second half, making just six-of-25 field goal attempts (24 percent), one-of-seven three-pointers and 13-of-16 free throws.
Wright led Moravian with 21 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots as she finished her sophomore season with 803 career points and 551 career rebounds, which is already 15th in school history. Jordan had her third double-double of the season for the Greyhounds with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Brogan tossed in 11 points to go with four boards. O'Rourke had ten points, five assists and three rebounds. Peterson added four points, a pair of blocked shots and two rebounds while Marcks added five boards, two points and a pair of blocked shots. The Greyhounds finished their 29-game season without having a player foul out of the game, believed to be the first time in school history.
Ross scored a game high 22 points to lead Swarthmore, and she added six rebounds. Lytle had five assists to go with her 18 rebounds and 13 points while Larsen finished with ten rebounds, nine points and three blocked shots for the Garnet. Freshman guard Jessica Jowdy contributed 11 points while Moritzky had seven points and six assists for Swarthmore.
