BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team scored 48 of its 76 points in the second half, and outscored The College of New Jersey 48-23 in the final 20 minutes as the Greyhounds earned their first victory of the 2015-16 season with a 76-53 win over the Lions in non-conference action in Johnston Hall Tuesday evening.
Moravian, now 1-1 on the young season, was hot from the floor in the second half, connecting on 17-of-26 field goal attempts (65.4 percent) after shooting just 12-of-37 (32.4 percent) through the opening two periods and trailing 30-28 at the intermission.
"I thought we just came out a little flat coming off an emotional game against Muhlenberg last Saturday, but I also thought we played great defense and our offense finally started rolling," commented Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "We got a couple of easy baskets, and we were passing the ball really well. What I was most pleased about is that we held them to 23 points in the second half, and we kind of did it without Alexis playing big minutes. The first win is always the toughest, and to get on a roll like that like we did in the end of the third quarter and into the fourth was pretty nice to see."
The Blue & Grey had 16 players see action in the game and placed three in double figures. Senior forward Alesha Marcks led the Hounds with 14 points, and she added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season to go along with four assists and three blocked shots. Graduate student forward Alexis Wright had her second straight double-double of the year with a game-high 12 rebounds to go with 10 points, three blocked shots, two assists and a pair of steals in just 16 minutes of action. Junior guard Morgan Calabrese joined the duo in double figures with 11 points, and she also added five boards and five assists.
Sophomore forward Trista Cunningham contributed nine points and four rebounds off the bench while junior forward Camille McPherson and freshman guard/forward Maggie Melhem each netted eight points with McPherson grabbing four boards. Sophomore guard Taylor Freeman helped ice the game with five of her six free throws in the final minutes while senior guard Karine Polgar tossed in four points. Senior guard Samantha Caligiuri led Moravian with six assists.
The Greyhounds built an early 10-5 lead in the opening 10-minute period and led 14-9 with 3:25 left in the session. However, the Lions responded with a 10-3 run to finish the quarter with a 19-17 lead after a Polgar three-pointer with 27 seconds before the break.
The teams would go back-and-forth in the second period with Moravian opening a 22-19 lead on a free throw by Freeman. Once again the Lions battled back and headed to the locker room up 30-28 with a buzzer beating shot just before the half ended.
TCNJ held a 34-33 lead 3:12 into the third period before Moravian went on a 7-0 run to take control of the contest. The Blue & Grey continued to extend the lead and had a 51-42 edge after 30 minutes of action.
After the Lions hit a three-pointer to start the final period, the Hounds scored the game's next 16 points to build a 67-45 lead with 4:08 to play. Moravian's largest lead of the game would come with 10 seconds to play when freshman forward Kaitlyn Roberto scored her first collegiate basket.
"It was great, and we talked about it after the game that we really didn't get anyone huge minutes and that is big with so many games to open the season," Spirk said. "We got some players such as Kaitlyn Roberto, who we like as a freshman, got some quality minutes and got their feet wet. I thought Taylor Freeman did a nice job. We're going to need people as we continue this season."
The Greyhounds, who are playing six times in the first 11 days of the season, are scheduled to play their third straight home game when Moravian hosts Immaculata University in a non-conference game on Thursday, November 19. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
