SCRANTON, Pa. --- The fourth seeded Moravian College women's basketball team dropped a 67-45 decision to top seed and No. 11 The University of Scranton in the Landmark Conference Semifinals Wednesday evening in the John Long Center.
The Greyhounds finished the 2017-18 season with a mark of 17-9 as the squad was playing the postseason for the 17th straight year and the 28th time in 31 seasons under Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk.
The Hounds struggled shooting the ball and were led by sophomore guard Maddie Capuano, who had 17 points and five rebounds. Graduate student forward Camille McPherson had seven points and seven rebounds to finish her career eighth in school history with 1,427 points and 16th all-time with 559 rebounds. Senior forward Trista Cunningham also had seven points with four rebounds and two assists.
Sophomore forward Nadine Ewald contributed four points and five rebounds while sophomore guard Karlie Brogan and senior forward Ciara Stewart both had four points and three boards. Freshman guard Julia Sirotnak added two points and two rebounds.
Moravian was just 14-of-58 from the field, 4-for-18 beyond the three-point line and 13-of-18 at the foul line in the game.
Scranton scored the opening points before the Greyhounds took a 5-4 lead on a three-pointer by Capuano at the 8:12 mark. The Royals moved back in front by four points before an old fashion three-point play from Capuano knotted the contest at 11-11 with 1:24 left in the first quarter. Scranton would score to lead 13-11 after 10 minutes of action.
Early in the second quarter, the Royals pushed the edge back to six points before the Hounds came back and took an 18-17 lead on two Capuano free throws with 5:05 before halftime. The squads traded the lead seven times over the next four minutes before Scranton pulled ahead and went to the locker room with a 30-27 advantage.
McPherson opened the scoring in the third quarter with a three-pointer to tie the game for the sixth time at 30-30. Cunningham tied the contest again at 32-32 with a lay-up and Brogan had the Greyhounds down a point, 35-34, with a pair of free throws. However, Scranton finished the third quarter on a 13-3 run to lead 48-37 after 30 minutes of play.
The Royals would continue to stretch the lead in the fourth quarter and eventually knock the Greyhounds out of the Landmark Conference Tournament.
