Moravian's Second Half Rally Comes Up Short at King's

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- The Moravian University women's basketball team outscored host King's College 39-31 in the second half but it wasn't enough to overcome a 16-point halftime deficit as the Monarchs posted an 84-76 non-conference victory over the visiting Greyhounds Tuesday afternoon.

How It Happened

• The Monarchs netted the first three points of the game before senior forward Kayla Yoegel sank two straight baskets to give the Hounds a 4-3 edge two minutes into action. King's scored the next four points, and then sophomore forward Sam Osorio sank a lay-up to make it a 7-6 game. The Monarchs stretched their advantage to nine points at 21-12 before a pair of free throws from junior guard Morgan Amy and a lay-up by Osorio cut it back to 21-16. King's hit a late three-pointer to lead 27-16 after ten minutes of action
• King's started the second quarter with a 5-0 run before junior guard Ashley Robinson connected on a pair of layups for Moravian. After the Monarchs pushed the advantage to 16 points at 39-23, sophomore forward Gracie Hezel scored two lay-ups and freshman forward Brielle Guarente added on as the Greyhounds cut the deficit to 10 points at 39-29. King's ended up heading to the locker room with a 53-37 edge.
• Osorio opened the scoring in the third quarter with a lay-up; however, the Monarchs pushed the advantage to 18 points. The Hounds would get back withing 10 points at 65-55 on a three-pointer from junior guard Jackie Kelly at the 2:44 mark, and Moravian trailed 72-59 after 30 minutes of action after outscoring King's 22-19 in the third quarter
• The Monarchs hit a three-pointer to start the fourth period while the Greyhounds would close the edge to eight points on a lay-up by Yoegel with 43 seconds remaining. The Blue and Grey outscored King's 17-12 in the final 10 minutes 

Inside the Numbers

• The Greyhounds had three players score in double figures led by Yoegel, who tossed in 18 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Kelly netted a career-high 14 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists while Osorio had the third double-double of her career with 14 points and a career-best 16 rebounds
• Hezel tossed in a career-high nine points to go along with five rebounds while Guarente had a career-high eight points to go with six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in her first career start
• Amy added eight points, five assists and a pair of steals while Robinson contributed career highs of five rebounds and five steals to go along with five points
• Moravian forced the Monarchs into 19 turnovers in the contest while committing 15 miscues
• The Hounds' 76 points were a season high and just the fifth time the Blue and Grey have scored more than 60 points in a game this winter
• The game was the final contest in Moravian's season-long five game road trip. The Hounds have played eight of their first 10 games on the road in 2021-22, and the squad will now play six of the next eight games in Johnston Hall

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Sunday, January 2 vs. Widener University in 18th Steel Club Classic, 2:00 p.m.
• Monday, January 3 vs. TBD in 18th Steel Club Classic, TBA