KINGS POINT, N.Y. --- Junior guard Morgan Calabrese scored a game-high 16 points including 11 in the second half to help lead the Moravian College women's basketball team to a 59-45 Landmark Conference victory at the United States Merchant Marine Academy Wednesday evening.
The Greyhounds improve to 15-3 overall on the season and remain in second place in the Landmark Conference with an 8-1 mark after the win.
Calabrese added five rebounds to help the Blue and Grey post a 55-38 advantage on the boards in the victory, Moravian's second largest rebounding edge of the season. Senior guard Samantha Caligiuri joined Calabrese in double figures with 11 points on a perfect night shooting as she was 5-for-5 from the floor and connected on her only free throw attempt. Caligiuri also added two assists and a pair of rebounds for the Greyhounds.
Graduate student forward Alexis Wright grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as she pushed her school record total to 1,145 boards, and Wright added four points. Junior forward Camille McPherson netted eight points with four rebounds while senior forward Alesha Marcks had nine boards, two assists and two points for Moravian.
Senior guard Marie Rossignoli and sophomore forward Trista Cunningham each had seven points for the Hounds with Rossignoli pulling down two rebounds and Cunningham blocking a career-high three shots. Freshman guard Maggie Melhem had four points while sophomore forward Jen Cella had three rebounds.
It was a low scoring first 10 minutes of action with Moravian leading 12-2 after the first quarter. Calabrese netted the first basket at the 7:43 mark, and the Greyhounds would score the final eight points with a lay-up from Caligiuri finishing the period.
The Hounds maintained their lead throughout the second quarter with the advantage reaching 13 on three occasions, the final time when Caligiuri hit a lay-up just seven seconds before the intermission to send Moravian to the locker room with a 25-12 lead.
The Greyhounds put 22 points on the scoreboard during the third quarter and led 47-24 after 30 minutes of action. Moravian's advantage peaked at 29 points, 45-16, on a jumper by Rossignoli with 2:49 left in the period. The Blue and Grey would use the entire bench in the fourth quarter with all 16 players in uniform seeing action in the victory.
Moravian closes out its four-game road trip with a Landmark Conference contest at The Catholic University of America on Saturday, January 30 with tip-off slated for 4:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.