ONEONTA, N.Y. --- Junior forward Alesha Marcks scored 13 of her game-high 21 points as she led the Moravian College women's basketball team from a 13-point deficit down to two points before the Greyhounds eventually fell to SUNY Oneonta, 62-52, in the second day of the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Hartwick College Sunday.
Marcks was 9-for-12 from the floor for her second 20-point game of the season, and she added five rebounds while tying her career high with three blocked shots as the Hounds swatted away nine shots in the game. Sophomore guard Morgan Calabrese tossed in nine points, all coming in the first half, while senior forward Alexis Wright, junior guard Emily MacDonnell and sophomore guard Nellie Tanguay all had five points.
Wright grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to move her career total to 684, just 11 shy of eighth place in school history, and she also had three steals and a pair of blocked shots. MacDonnell also added three steals to go with a pair of assists while Tanguay pulled down five boards. Sophomore Natalie Vanderlaan-Meyering, playing in her hometown, had six rebounds and three points for the Hounds while freshman guard Taylor Freeman had three steals and two assists and freshman forward Trista Cunningham netted three points.
The Red Dragons connected on their first six shots of the game and lead 15-5 before a 6-0 run by the Greyhounds pulled the Hounds within four points, 15-11, with 13:52 to go in the first half on a lay-up from Calabrese. Moravian was still down by four, 21-17, after a lay-up by Cunningham with 9:31 on the clock but SUNY Oneonta pulled away late in the half and headed to the locker room with a 40-27 lead after a jumper by Marcks with time expiring in the half.
The Greyhounds scored the first four points of the second half to get within 40-31 on a jumper by Tanguay, and the Hounds closed the gap to six points, 44-38, after a free throw by Vanderlaan-Meyering with 13:45 to play. Moravian pulled with four, 48-44, on a free throw by Wright with seven minutes left in the contest.
On Moravian's next trip down the floor, Wright connected on a lay-up to get the Hounds within two points, and the Greyhounds were also down by a pair, 50-48, after two free throws by Marcks. The Red Dragons scored five points but Marcks answered with back-to-back buckets to make the score 55-52 with 1:22 remaining. However, SUNY Oneonta scored the final seven points of the game including a three-pointer, the Red Dragons; seventh of the contest, and four free throws.
Moravian will return to action on Tuesday, November 25 as the Greyhounds host DeSales University in a non-conference game in Johnston Hall tipping off at 6:00 p.m. For the Hounds, it will be their fifth game in eight days.
