BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College is continuing its look back at its 2016-17 athletic campaign. The next event in the top 10 exciting games from the past year is our No. 6 highlight – the women's basketball team defeating No. 14 The University of Scranton, 87-83, on the road.
The Greyhounds, who finished the season with a 20-8 record while reaching the Landmark Conference Semifinals and ECAC Division III Tournament Quarterfinals, used the victory, which was part of a eight-game conference winning streak, to secure a postseason berth for the 16th consecutive season.
On the evening of February 1, the Greyhounds made the trek to Scranton for their second Landmark Conference meeting of the year. The Royals won the first contest two weeks earlier in Johnson Hall by 21 points but the Hounds wouldn't make the second contest as easy.
Scranton jumped out to a 4-0 lead and had a 10-6 edge before a three-point play by senior forward Camille McPherson and a three-pointer by freshman guard Karlie Brogan had Moravian ahead, 12-10, with 3:26 left in the first quarter. The Royals moved back in front and had a five-point edge, 19-14, with 1:22 left in the period, but a three-pointer from McPherson and a late lay-up by junior forward Trista Cunningham had the game tied at 19-19 after 10 minutes of action.
Moravian opened the second quarter with a jumper by senior guard Morgan Calabrese to give the Greyhounds a lead. The Royals moved back into the lead and had a 36-31 advantage with two had a half minutes before the intermission. Cunningham would hit on a free throw and then a three-point play before a lay-up by Brogan put the Blue and Grey back in front, 37-36, with a minute still on the clock. Calabrese added a jumper just before the buzzer to send Moravian to the locker room with a 39-36 lead.
Scranton opened the third quarter with a 4-0 run to retake the lead, and the Royals eventually pushed the edge to six points at 49-43 with 5:25 left in the quarter. The Greyhounds grabbed the lead back, 55-54, on a three-pointer by freshman guard Maddie Capuano with 1:58 left in the period, and a pair of free throws by Capuano as the third quarter expired gave Moravian a 63-60 lead after 30 minutes of action.
The fourth quarter would remain close with the Hounds eventually pushed the lead six points at 74-68 after a lay-up by freshman forward Nadine Ewald. However, the Royals would come back and tie the contest at 76-76 with 4:33 to play. McPherson gave Moravian the lead for good 16 seconds later with a jumper and baskets from Calabrese and Ewald had the advantage at 82-76 with 1:43 remaining. The Royals pulled within three points, 83-80, before two free throws each from Cunningham and McPherson in the final 15 seconds iced the victory.
McPherson led four Greyhounds in double figures in the contest with 23 points to go along with ten rebounds as she recorded her sixth double-double of the season. Capuano tossed in 17 points while Brogan had 15 points and Ewald had 12 points. Calabrese finished with nine points as Moravian's starters accounted for 76 of the team's 87 points in the win, and Cunningham had eight points off of the bench.
Read the original game story at http://moraviansports.com/sports/wbkb/2016-17/releases/20170201xptbn6 with a link to stats.
The number five highlight in the top 10 exciting games of 2016-17 will be released on Wednesday, July 12.