BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team finished its Landmark Conference contest against Elizabethtown College with four players in double figures and a pair with double-doubles including graduate student forward Alexis Wright, who picked up her 50th career double-double, as the Greyhounds won the game by a final score of 75-65 over the Blue Jays in Johnston Hall.
Moravian remained undefeated in Landmark Conference action with the victory, improving to 5-0 in conference play and 12-2 overall this winter. The Hounds out-rebounded the Blue Jays, 53-41, and also connected on 18-of-21 free throws in the win.
"The thing that I liked today was the way that we rebounded and not giving up second shots because in the second half, that was their offense. They had to go to the perimeter, and it they got second chance points, then we were going to be in trouble," commented Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "I liked our energy, and we came out hard. We got out of sync a couple of times but I thought because of our mismatches, we took advantage. When you get a win in conference play against a good team, you've got to feel pretty good about it."
Wright had 17 points and 14 rebounds to grab her eighth double-double of the season, and she moved into fifth in school history with 1,535 points and increased her school record for rebounds to 1,108. Wright also added four blocked shots, two assists and one steal in the victory. Just behind Wright was senior forward Alesha Marcks, who contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and 10th of her career. Marcks also ended the game with five assists and two steals.
"Alexis is so steady," Spirk said. "Someone said to me after the game you just don't know if she is playing good or bad, if she's getting hit. She's just steady and when she rebounds like that, we're going to be tough to play against. There have been a bunch of her double-doubles over the years when we thought she didn't play well before seeing the final stats but then she had double-double after double-double so you ready have to commend her on being a steady player."
Also in double figures for Moravian were junior guard Morgan Calabrese, who scored 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, and junior forward Camille McPherson, who added 13 points, nine rebounds, an assist and a steal. Sophomore forward Trista Cunningham added six points, five rebounds and a steal while freshman guard Maggie Melhem made a three-pointer for her three points, and she grabbed three rebounds. Senior guards Samantha Caligiuri and Karine Polgar each scored three points with Caligiuri adding three assists, two boards and a pair of steals.
McPherson opened the scoring with a long jumper just 21 seconds into the first quarter, and Moravian led 12-2 before an 11-0 run by the Blue Jays put Elizabethtown in front, 13-12, with 3:02 left in the first period. The Greyhounds would answer with an 11-3 run to finish the opening 10 minutes with a 23-16 lead.
It took the teams nearly two minutes to score in the second quarter but the Blue and Grey would eventually have a nine-point lead, 29-20, on a three-point play by Wright with 6:23 until the intermission. Polgar pushed the advantage into double digits at 34-24 with a three-pointer at the 2:58 mark but Moravian would not score again in the half as the Hounds headed to the locker room with a 34-29 lead.
Moravian maintained its advantage thought the early part of the second half, and the Greyhounds were up 49-40 after three free throws by McPherson after a technical foul. However, Elizabethtown scored 12 of the final 17 points of the third period, and the Blue and Grey needed a lay-up from Wright with 13 seconds left in the quarter to maintain a 54-52 lead after 30 minutes of action.
Elizabethtown opened the fourth period with back-to-back three-pointers to take a 58-54 lead. Marcks would tie the game with a pair of free throws and a jumper, and Calabrese put the Hounds back in the lead for good, 61-60, with a three-pointer at the 7:06 mark. The Greyhounds' defense limited the Blue Jays to just a pair of free throws in the final four minutes of action to extend a two-point lead to the final advantage of 10 points.
Moravian will return to action on Wednesday, January 13 when the squad hosts Goucher College in a Landmark Conference game in Johnston Hall with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.
