PITTSBURGH, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team saw its 2016-17 season come to a close Friday evening as the Greyhounds fell to Waynesburg University, 94-77, in the ECAC Division III Championship Tournament Quarterfinals hosted by Carnegie Mellon University.
The Hounds finish the season with a 20-8 record for the second straight winter.
"When we got it to four at the end of the third quarter, we thought we had them but we could not catch a break," stated Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "I'm extremely proud of our effort all year. Coming into the year, there was a lot of uncertainty and our two seniors, Morgan and Camille, really had solid years. They led this young team to a 20-win season and carried on the tradition of excellence of Moravian Basketball."
Moravian had three players in double figures with senior forward Camille McPherson netting a team-high 27 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. McPherson finished the season with 642 points, the second best year in school history, and her 22.9-point per game scoring average this winter is a school record. She scored 1,028 points in just 55 games, the 23rd best career total for the Moravian program.
Sophomore forward Ariana Caiati netted a career high 13 points to go with three rebounds while freshman center Nadine Ewald had 12 points and a team high seven boards. Freshman guard Maddie Capuano scored eight points to go along with four rebounds while freshman guard Karlie Brogan and junior forward Trista Cunningham each had six points with Brogan adding four assists and two boards and Cunningham pulling down three rebounds.
Senior guard Morgan Calabrese finished with five points and five rebounds as she completed her career with 810 points, 322 rebounds, 218 assists and 106 steals for the Greyhounds. Junior center Jen Cella came off the bench to grab two rebounds for the Blue and Grey.
Waynesburg scored the first four points of the game before Ewald got Moravian on the scoreboard two minutes into action. The Greyhounds trailed 10-8 after an Ewald jumper but the Yellow Jackets scored five straight points for a 15-8 edge, and Waynesburg led 22-16 after the first 10 minutes of action.
The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead to double digits, 30-20, 2:45 into the second quarter. Moravian closed within five points, 32-57, on a lay-up by Capuano with 5:52 left in the period but Waynesburg pulled away for a 13-point edge, 45-32. The Greyhounds scored the last two baskets of the half to head to the locker room trailing 45-36 after Waynesburg shot 51.4 percent (19-of-37) in the first half.
Moravian would close with five points, 49-44, after two free throws by Brogan with 7:21 left in the third quarter but Waynesburg eventually pushed its advantage back to 15 points, 66-51, with 3:27 to go in the period. The Greyhounds finished the quarter on a 15-4 run as a pair of McPherson free throws with 30 seconds left in the third period has Moravian down just four points, 70-66, heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead back to eight points to start the fourth quarter but baskets by Cunningham and McPherson cut the deficit to 75-71 with 6:35 remaining. Waynesburg answered with six straight points, and the Yellow Jackets scored 19 of the game's final 25 points to knock the Greyhounds out of the tournament.
Calabrese and McPherson helped Moravian to back-to-back 20-8 seasons, and Calabrese played in 106 of a possible 111 games in her career as the Greyhounds posted a 75-36 mark over the last four years with a trio of 20-8 records, two NCAA Division III Tournament berths and two ECAC Tournament appearances.
