WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team connected on 11-of-12 free throws in overtime and was 27-for-34 at the charity stripe in the game as the Greyhounds posted a 75-70 overtime win at The Catholic University of America in Landmark Conference action Saturday.
The Hounds, now 10-3 overall and 2-0 in Landmark Conference contests, earned their first victory in Washington, D.C. since a 66-65 overtime victory on February 26, 2014 in the Landmark Conference Semifinals over the Cardinals. Moravian has not been able to pull out a regulation win at Catholic since January of 2010.
"It feels good to get our first conference road win after a hard-fought game," stated Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "We came out strong early and had good energy which is important away from home. We showed a lot of character coming back to tie it in regulation after being down by six late in the fourth."
The Greyhounds had three players in double figures led by junior guard Maddie Capuano, who tossed in a game-high 27 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Karlie Brogan added 18 points and six boards while senior guard/forward Emily Walls scored 11 points to go with eight rebounds and three steals.
Junior forward Nadine Ewald led the Greyhounds on the glass with a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with nine points and two assists while sophomore guard Jennifer McClave had six points, two assists and two rebounds. Sophomore forward Jordan Beneducci contributed four points to go with five rebounds and four assists while senior forward Ariana Caiati and junior guard Brooke Santy each had two rebounds.
"Maddie once again was consistent on both ends of the floor, Nadine came up with some big rebounds, and Karlie hit some key shots," Spirk noted. "We also got solid contributions off the bench from Jordan and Emily, which will be needed moving forward, and we made foul shots down the stretch."
Capuano would also lead the Blue and Grey at the foul line, going 11-for-12 while McClave was 6-for-8, Walls was 5-for-6 and both Brogan and Beneducci were both 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Moravian shot 21-of-60 from the floor and 6-for-18 beyond the three-point arc, and the Greyhounds finished the afternoon with a 49-43 edge in rebounds.
Catholic scored the first three-points of the game before a lay-up from Ewald and a three-pointer by Brogan had the Hounds up 5-3. After three ties, Moravian pulled back in front and would lead 16-10 after a three-pointer from Walls with 4:16 left in the opening period. Capuano connected on a shot in the final seconds of the quarter as the Blue and Grey led 22-19 after 10 minutes of action.
McClave hit a free throw to start the scoring in the second half before the Cardinals tied the game for a fourth time at 23-23. The Greyhounds answered with an 8-0 run including three-pointers by Capuano and Brogan and a free throw by Walls to make the advantage 31-23 with 3:36 before the intermission. Walls would add two more free throws just before the half ended to send Moravian to the locker room with a 34-27 lead.
Ewald connected on a lay-up to start the second half as the Hounds' advantage reached a game-high nine points, 36-27. Catholic slowly chipped away and closed within a point late in the quarter but the Hounds would still lead 48-46 after 30 minutes of action.
The Cardinals tied the score for a fifth time at 48-48 to start the fourth quarter before Capuano drained another three-pointer. However, Catholic ran off seven points to take a 55-51 lead, and the Cardinals had a 61-55 edge with 2:44 remaining in regulation. Brogan cut that in half with a three-pointer, and Capuano made it a two-point game, 62-60, on a jumper with just under a minute on the clock. Capuano would drain a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to knot the score, and Walls had a chance at a game-winning three-pointer but missed and Ewald did not have enough time to put back the rebound as the teams headed to the extra five minutes tied at 62-62.
Catholic scored first in the overtime before two free throws from Walls tied the game for an eighth time at 64-64. The Cardinals moved ahead again, and this time it was a jumper from Capuano to knot the score once more with 2:27 to play. Ewald hit a free throw with 1:36 remaining as Moravian moved in front for good, 67-66, and the Hounds would go 8-for-8 at the foul line in the 52 seconds including four by McClave to seal the victory.
The Greyhounds are slated to return to action on Wednesday, January 9 in a Landmark Conference contest at No. 6 The University of Scranton beginning at 7:00 p.m.
