SELINSGROVE, Pa. --- Senior forward Alexis Wright and junior forward Alesha Marcks combined for 47 points and 22 rebounds while shooting 23-of-28 at the foul line to lead the Moravian College women's basketball team to an 83-77 Landmark Conference road victory at Susquehanna University Saturday afternoon.
"The team played hard from the start," commented Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "We challenged them to play 40 minutes and they responded. It was a great team effort."
The duo helped the Greyhounds improve to 11-10 overall and 7-5 in Landmark action as the Hounds remained just half a game out the final playoff spot with the victory. Wright picked up her 11th double-double of the season and the 35th of her career with game-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Wright tied her career-best with six assists to go along with five blocked shots and four steals. Wright also increased her career totals to 1,250 points, 876 rebounds and 185 blocked shots in the game.
Marcks tossed in 23 points and contributed seven rebounds and four steals for the Greyhounds, and she was 11-for-13 at the charity stripe while Wright was 12-for-15 at the foul line.
"Both Alexis and Alesha stepped up their game and made it difficult for Susquehanna to defend both of them," stated Spirk. "The most important stat was the in rebounding which we were focused on going in."
Sophomore guard Morgan Calabrese chipped in 11 points while making both of her three-point attempts while junior guard Emily MacDonnell added eight points, three assists and three boards for Moravian. Freshman forward Trista Cunningham contributed seven points and six rebounds in the victory while freshman guard Taylor Freeman netted six points. Junior guard Samantha Caligiuri pulled down five rebounds and scored four points for the Greyhounds.
After the Crusaders scored the opening basket, MacDonnell hit the first of two three-pointers in the game to give the Hounds the lead. The teams traded the lead nine times in the game with the score tied seven times in the first ten minutes of action, the final time at 18-18. Wright hit a lay-up for the final tie and start an 8-0 run by the Greyhounds with Wright's jumper at 8:37 putting Moravian up 24-18.
Freeman connected on a jumper with four minutes before the intermission to give the Blue and Grey their first double-digit lead of the game, 34-23, and Moravian pushed that advantage to 19 points, 46-27, with 26 ticks before the break. Susquehanna would hit a three-pointer before halftime to send the teams to the locker room with the Greyhounds leading 46-30. Moravian was hot from the field in the opening 20 minutes, making 17-of-29 field goal attempts (58.6 percent).
Wright made a pair of free throws to begin the second half but the Crusaders would score the next five points to pull within 48-35. Moravian pushed the lead back to 16 points, 51-35, after a lay-up by Calabrese at the 15:52 mark. Susquehanna answered back with a 19-4 run to get within a point, 55-54, with 9:32 remaining in the contest.
The Hounds put together a 10-0 run capped off by another three-pointer from MacDonnell with 7:15 to play as Moravian retook control of the game. The closest the Crusaders would get the rest of the way was six points in the final minute of action.
The Greyhounds will close out their three-game road trip on Wednesday, February 11 in a Landmark Conference contest at Drew University tipping off at 7:00 p.m. in Madison, New Jersey.
