BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak come to an end on a last second shot by Drew University as the Rangers defeated the Greyhounds, 81-79, in Landmark Conference action Wednesday evening in Johnston Hall.
The Hounds fall to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in Landmark Conference with the loss, and the Blue and Grey are now 6-1 on their season-long eight game home stand.
Moravian had four players in double figures and had 69 of 79 points from the starting line-up. Sophomore forward Nadine Ewald led the squad with 18 points to go with two rebounds while graduate student Camille McPherson added 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists as she moved into 11th in school history in scoring with 1,229 points. Sophomore guard Karlie Brogan contributed 13 points, five rebounds and four steals while sophomore guard Maddie Capuano had 12 points, five assists and four steals.
Senior forward Trista Cunningham contributed nine points, seven rebounds and a career-best five assists while freshman guard Julia Sirotnak added five points and a pair of rebounds. Freshman guard Jennifer McClave netted four points with five assists and a pair of steals while senior forward Ciara Stewart had one point.
Moravian connected on 30-of-61 field goal attempts, 5-of-10 three-pointers and 14-of-20 free throws in the contest but it wasn't enough to overcome the hot shooting by the Rangers, who connected on 33-of-59 field goal attempts as well as six three-pointers. The Greyhounds were also outrebounded for just the fourth time in 14 games as Drew held a 33-30 edge on the boards. The Hounds did force the Rangers into 18 turnovers and distributed the ball well with 22 assists on 30 field goals.
Brogan opened the scoring with a three-pointer but the Rangers quickly took a 5-3 lead. The Greyhounds moved back in front, 8-7, on a three-point play from Capuano at the 6:50 mark but Drew retook the lead and held the advantage for the rest of the quarter including a five-point edge on three occasions before leading 24-21 after 10 minutes of action.
The Rangers pushed the advantage back to five points twice in the second quarter before Capuano gave Moravian a 33-32 lead with 4:45 before the intermission on a jumper. The squads traded the lead four more times before a three-pointer from McPherson had the Hounds up 38-36. The Blue and Grey would head to the locker room with a 44-39 edge at halftime after a buzzer beating three-pointer by Sirotnak to end the half.
Moravian held onto the advantage throughout the third quarter, leading by as many as 10 points, 67-57, after two free throws by Capuano with 1:06 left tin the period. However, the Rangers hit a three-pointer and a lay-up to close the gap to 67-62 after 30 minutes of action.
The Hounds did not score in the fourth quarter until a free throw by Cunningham at the 6:52 mark that had the Blue and Grey ahead 68-66. Moravian eventually pushed the lead to four points twice, the final time at 72-68 on a basket from Ewald with 5:14 remaining. Drew would knot the score at 77-77 with 1:15 to play and take a two-point lead 30 seconds later on a pair of free throws. Brogan connected on a jumper with 15.4 seconds left to tie the game again at 79-79 but the Rangers retook the lead with two ticks on the clock. McPherson would get off a three-point attempt before the buzzer but it bounced off of the backboard.
Moravian is slated to close out its eight-game home stand on Saturday, January 13 when the squad hosts The Catholic University of America in a Landmark Conference game tipping off at 4:00 p.m. as the Greyhounds host Take a Kid to the Game Day.
