UNION, N.J. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead and saw it close down to one point before posting a 61-58 victory over Eastern University in the championship game of the Kean (N.J.) University Classic Saturday afternoon.
The Greyhounds, who are now 4-0 on the season, had three players in double figures led by junior guard Maddie Capuano, who tossed in a game-high 20 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. Capuano was named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring 50 points in the two victories, and junior guard Karlie Brogan was selected to the All-Tournament Team after 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists on Saturday. Junior forward Nadine Ewald recorded her 13th career double-double and first of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds to go with three blocked shots.
Senior guard Emily Walls had four points and three boards while sophomore guard Jennifer McClave also had four points with two rebounds and a pair of assists. Senior forward Ariana Caiati added six rebounds and four points off of the bench while sophomore forward Jordan Beneducci added two boards.
Moravian was just 20-for-63 from the field but was 5-for-16 beyond the three-point line and 16-for-20 at the charity stripe to pull out the victory. The Greyhounds also had a 49-37 advantage on the boards including 16-9 on offensive rebounds.
Eastern scored the first two baskets of the game before a three-pointer from Brogan got the Hounds on the scoreboard at the 8:35 mark. Ewald would give the Hounds the lead the next trip down the floor and Brogan followed with a jumper for a 7-4 lead. The Eagles added a free throw before Moravian ran off 15 straight points for a 22-5 lead on a pair of free throws from Walls. Eastern would score the final points of the quarter as the Blue and Grey led 22-7 after ten minutes of action.
The Eagles scored first again in the second quarter before back-to-back lay-up from Capuano had Moravian leading 26-11 at the 7:43 mark. Brogan and Capuano hit back-to-back three-pointers as the Hounds' pushed the lead to 34-13 with 2:52 before the intermission; however, the Blue and Grey would not score again in the half, heading to the locker room with a 34-21 edge.
Walls scored the first points of the second half as Moravian's edge moved to 15 points, and a three-pointer from Capuano had the Hounds up 39-21. Another jumper by Capuano stretched the lead to 19 points, 41-22, with 6:46 left in the third quarter before Eastern closed within nine points. Ewald hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give the Blue and Grey a 48-37 lead after 30 minutes of action.
Ewald also hit a free throw to start the fourth quarter, and her jumper at 9:05 had Moravian up 51-39. However, Eastern scored 10 straight points to close within 51-49 before Capuano connected on a pair of free throws. The Eagles would get within a point on three occasions before Ewald sealed the victory with a put back lay-up with just 3.6 seconds remaining.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, November 20 when they host DeSales University in a non-conference game in Johnston Hall tipping off at 6:05 p.m. due to a live television broadcast in the Lehigh Valley by TV-2 Sports.
