BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team jumped out to an early 10-point lead before rival Muhlenberg College started to score, and the Mules would lead by 18 points in the third period and held on for a 77-74 lead over the Hounds in the 2015-16 season opener for both schools in Johnston Hall Saturday evening.
"I thought we came out of the gate great, and that is what I wanted to do so I was pretty happy with that but then we kind of got lulled into just thinking we were going to win," commented Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk, who is beginning her 29th season on the bench in Bethlehem. "Then I was disappointed because I didn't think we worked hard in the middle of the game. We sort of let them do what they wanted to.
"I did tell the team after the game that our effort was awesome in that stretch when we came back to take a four-point lead," continued Spirk. "It is frustrating because we expended so much energy. It is tough to seal a win after you have to come back like that. I saw some good stuff in the first game of the year and hopefully we'll bounce back."
The Greyhounds placed four players in double figures with junior forward Camille McPherson scoring a game-high 21 points in her first game in a Moravian uniform. McPherson added six rebounds and a pair of assists in the contest.
"Camille was unbelievable and we obviously knew that's what she could do," Spirk said. "I thought to come in and do that when I knew she was a little nervous. She got a couple of rebounds and gave us a little energy. Hopefully we'll see more of that."
Graduate student Alexis Wright had her 42nd career double-double with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to go with six blocked shots, four assists and three steals while senior forward Alesha Marcks tossed in 11 points with four boards, two assists and a pair of steals.
"Having Alexis is a great presence but she has to shoot the ball a little bit better," noted Spirk.
Sophomore forward Trista Cunningham had 10 points and six rebounds in the game for the Hounds while senior guard Emily MacDonnell added six points, four assists and three rebounds. Junior guard Morgan Calabrese contributed five points and four boards for the Greyhounds while senior guard Samantha Caligiuri had four points and three rebounds. Freshman guard Maggie Melhem had two points, two boards and a pair of blocked shots in her first collegiate action while senior guard Karine Polgar added three rebounds.
The Blue & Grey had a 12-2 lead just 2:53 into the opening period as NCAA women's basketball switched to four 10-minute periods this winter. However, the Mules would rally back and lead 24-23 at the end of the opening period. Muhlenberg would extend that lead to eight points, 43-35, at the intermission.
The Mules scored 12 of the first 14 points in the third period to open a 55-37 lead, and Muhlenberg still lead by 17 points, 61-44, with 2:57 to play in the third stanza. Moravian answered with the final 12 points including nine by McPherson to head to the final period down 61-56.
The Greyhounds netted the first four points of the fourth period to cut the Mules' lead to 61-60, and Moravian took a 67-65 lead on a lay-up by Cunningham with 6:14 to play. The Hounds led 71-67 on a jumper from Marcks at the 3:53 mark but the Mules would outscore the Blue & Grey, 10-3, over the remainder of the game.
The Blue & Grey struggled shooting from the floor, making just 26-of-87 attempts (29.9 percent) and 8-of-34 behind the three-point line (23.5 percent); however, Moravian did make 14-of-15 free throws in the contest.
"I thought we shot great at the foul line and that is what kept us in the game," Spirk said. "We'll learn from this and bounce back."
Moravian is slated to return to action on Tuesday, November 18 in a non-conference game at The College of New Jersey starting at 7:00 p.m. in Ewing, New Jersey.
