BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Freshman guard Maddie Capuano sank a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to lift the Moravian College women's basketball team to a 74-72 victory over Elizabethtown College in the 2016-17 Landmark Conference opener for both schools in Johnston Hall Saturday afternoon.
The game was a back-and-forth affair with the Blue and Grey leading by as many as 11 points in the first quarter and the Blue Jays, who suffered their first loss of the season, up by eight points early in the fourth quarter.
"It was a tremendous win for us to begin conference play," stated Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "After losing two close games at home, it was great to be on the winning side. Credit Trista and Maddie with hitting the big free throws at the end of the game...but of course without Camille playing at such a high level, those free throws perhaps would not have happened. This will definitely give our young team a boost heading into three games on the road."
Capuano finished with four points, all at the foul line, and she had four rebounds and three assists for the Greyhounds who improve to 5-2 overall on the season. Senior forward Camille McPherson tossed in a game-high 34 points, her third 30-point game of the season, and McPherson had a team-high nine rebounds to go with three assists.
Freshman center Nadine Ewald had 10 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Morgan Calabrese added eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Junior center Ciara Stewart contributed six points and two boards while freshman guard Karlie Brogan had six points and five rebounds. Junior forward Trista Cunningham added four points and two boards while sophomore forward Ariana Caiati had two points. Freshman guard Brooke Santy had two assists and a rebounds for Moravian.
The Blue Jays opened the scoring while the Greyhounds took the lead at 5-4 on a three-pointer by McPherson at the 7:44 mark. McPherson's trey started a 12-0 run as Moravian took a 15-4 lead on another three-pointer by McPherson with 3:54 left in the first period. However, the Blue and Grey scored just two points the rest of the quarter and led Elizabethtown, 17-14, after 10 minutes of action.
Elizabethtown scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a 19-17 lead. Stewart gave Moravian the lead back at 23-21 before the Blue Jays moved back in front, 28-25, with 3:57 before the intermission. McPherson pushed the lead the 32-28 with a lay-up a minute later, and the Greyhounds headed to the locker room with a 36-34 advantage.
Calabrese opened the second half with a lay-up, and the Greyhounds had a 42-36 lead with 8:49 left in the third quarter on a lay-up by McPherson. The Blue Jays answered back and took a 44-41 edge at the 7:42 mark while Moravian moved back in front at 48-46 on a pair of free throws by Ewald. Elizabethtown made a run late in the quarter to take a 58-52 lead after 30 minutes of action.
The Blue Jays opened the fourth quarter with a basket for their largest lead of eight points, 60-52, 24 seconds into the period. Moravian slowly cut into the lead and moved back in front, 66-65 on a three-pointer by McPherson with 4:32 to play. Stewart pushed the lead to three points with a lay-up before the Blue Jays knotted the score at 68-68. McPherson scored as Moravian moved in front but Elizabethtown scored four straight to take a 72-70 lead with just 1:09 remaining. Cunningham stepped to the foul line with 11 seconds to play and tied the game with a pair of free throws while Capuano would win the game at the charity stripe with 4.7 seconds left after Cunningham forced a steal on Elizabethtown's possession. The Blue Jays had one final shot that fell off the rim.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Monday, December 5 in a non-conference game at The College of New Jersey with tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m.
