BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team rallied from a 10-point first half deficit and headed to overtime for the second time in two weeks with nationally-ranked The University of Scranton before the Royals pulled out a 75-70 overtime victory over the Greyhounds in Johnston Hall Wednesday evening.
The Hounds fall to 13-7 overall and 3-6 in Landmark Conference action after the game. Moravian had three players in double figures led by graduate student forward Camille McPherson, who had 25 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward Nadine Ewald had 18 points, six boards, four assists and a pair of steals while freshman guard Julia Sirotnak netted a career-high 10 points to go with two rebounds.
Senior forward Trista Cunningham, sophomore guard Maddie Capuano, sophomore guard Karlie Brogan and senior forward Ciara Stewart all scored four points while junior forward Ariana Caiati had one point. Brogan contributed eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists while Cunningham and Stewart each had four boards. Capuano added five assists and two rebounds.
The Greyhounds connected on 30-of-70 field goal attempts and 4-of-14 three-point shots while shooting just 6-of-11 at the foul line in the contest.
McPherson scored the first points of the evening with a pair of free throws before Scranton scored the next eight points for an 8-2 lead. The Royals held the lead until Capuano hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Hounds a 13-12 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Scranton scored the first eight points of the second quarter to build a 20-13 lead, and the Royals extended the advantage out to 10 points, 26-16, with just over four minutes until the intermission. Ewald hit a pair of baskets and McPherson drained a three-pointer and added a lay-up to close the game to 27-25 with 1:37 left in the period. After a Scranton free throw, McPherson hit a jumper to pull the Blue and Grey within a point; however, the Royals hit a late basket to head to the locker room with a 30-27 advantage.
Ewald opened the second half with a lay-up and Brogan followed with a jumper as Moravian took a 31-30 lead. The teams traded the lead four times before the Blue and Grey took a 41-37 edge on a lay-up by Stewart. Sirotnak finished off the quarter with a lay-up as Moravian had a 43-39 advantage after 30 minutes of action.
Sirotnak also started the fourth with a lay-up as the Greyhounds led 45-39. The Royals would tie the game at 48-48 before moving ahead by two points on a pair of free throws with 4:44 left in regulation. The lead would go back-and-forth again with the Royals eventually ahead by four points, 56-52. Ewald pulled Moravian within a point at 57-56 before a three-point play by McPherson had the Hounds leading 59-57 with 40 seconds remaining. Scranton scored with nine seconds left to knot the score for a fifth time, and Sirotnak's jumper before the buzzer was off the mark to force overtime.
McPherson netted the first two baskets of the extra session as Moravian led 63-59 with 3:26 on the clock. However, Scranton scored 14 of the next 16 points to build a 73-65 lead in the final minute. Sirotnak hit a three-pointer and added a jumper but the Greyhounds were unable to get closer than five points.
Moravian is scheduled to return to Johnston Hall on Saturday, February 3 when then Greyhounds host Elizabethtown College in a Landmark Conference game tipping off at 2:00 p.m. The Hounds will wear their pink uniforms Saturday for the squad's annual Play4Kay game to raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
