BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end on Senior Day as the Greyhounds fell to No. 23 The Catholic University of America, 57-54, on a late three-pointer in Landmark Conference action as the Hounds dropped to the third seed in the upcoming Landmark Tournament.
Moravian, which was wearing pink uniforms for its annual Play 4Kay game to raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, finishes the regular season at 19-6 overall and 11-3 in Landmark Conference action. The Greyhounds are tied with The University of Scranton in the standings but the Royals own the tiebreaker by virtue of defeating Catholic once this season. The Royals will host the Greyhounds in a Semifinal game on Wednesday, February 22 at 5:30 p.m. in Scranton.
The Blue and Grey had three players in double figures with freshman guard Maddie Capuano netting a game-high 17 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Camille McPherson had 10 points and three rebounds as she raised her season total to 578 points, the third highest single season in school history in her final regular season game in Johnston Hall. Freshman center Nadine Ewald picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go with three assists and three blocked shots.
Senior guard Morgan Calabrese tossed in six points to go with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals as she reached 795 points for her career. Junior forward Trista Cunningham had six points and two rebounds while freshman guard Karlie Brogan had five points and two boards and sophomore forward Ariana Caiati grabbed four rebounds.
Catholic opened with the first two points of the game before back-to-back three-pointers by McPherson has the Greyhounds leading 6-2. Capuano hit the first of five three-pointers as Moravian moved ahead 13-7 with 3:47 left in the first quarter. and Ewald hit a late foul line jumper as the Blue and Grey led 17-12 after the first 10 minutes of action.
Capuano started the second quarter with two three-pointers as Moravian's lead hit double digits, 23-12, and a three-pointer by Brogan had the Greyhounds holding a 28-14 advantage with 6:27 still to play in the second period. However, Moravian would get just two more points, a lay-up from Ewald at the 4:09 mark, as Catholic finished the half with an 18-2 run to head to the locker room with a 32-30 edge.
Capuano connected on a pair of free throws at the start of the third quarter to knot the score and lay-ups by Ewald and McPherson had the Hounds leading 36-32 with 7:20 left in the period. Catholic retook the lead but Moravian tied the score two more times, the second time at 41-41 on a Capuano three-pointer with 2:02 on the clock. Calabrese scored in the final minute as Moravian was down a point, 44-43, after 30 minutes of play.
The Cardinals maintained the lead through the fourth quarter as it reached five points. Capuano would tie the game for the fifth time at 52-52 with a three-pointer at 2:05, and Ewald sank two free throws with 43 seconds to play to make the score 54-54. Ewald blocked a shot on Catholic's next possession but the Cardinals would get the rebound and kick it out for a three-pointer from the corner with 14 seconds to play and the lead. McPherson had her final three-point attempt blocked and a short jumper missed for the Greyhounds as the clock ran out.
The Hounds, who are now 5-5 when wearing pink uniforms over the last 10 years, struggled shooting in the second half, going just 8-for-33 in the second half (24.2 percent) and 20-for-64 for the game (31.3 percent). Moravian is just 2-4 this winter when shooting below 38 percent from the floor, and the Hounds were out-rebounded for just the fifth time this season, falling to 1-4 in those contests.
The Greyhounds will make an appearance in the postseason 16th straight year on Wednesday, February 22 in the Landmark Semifinals at Scranton beginning at 5:30 p.m. Moravian and Scranton have met five times in the Landmark postseason with the Royals leading 4-1, winning all four games in Scranton including two conference titles. Moravian's only win in the postseason series is the 2010 Landmark Championship in Bethlehem.
