BETHLHEM, Pa. – The nationally-ranked No. 22 Moravian College women's basketball team fell to The College of New Jersey, 60-53, Monday evening. The Greyhounds trailed as much as 15 points, and rallied in the second half to come within four points of the lead with 30 seconds to play, but couldn't complete the comeback attempt.
Senior forward Candace Vigo netted the first points of the game for the Lions (11-5) with a layup. Vigo and sophomore guard Kylie O'Donnell added back-to-back layups for the quick 6-0 lead. Junior center Laura Jordan got the Greyhounds (14-2) on the board with a breakaway lay-in.
A layup from sophomore forward Jessica Goldbach, and a jumper by junior guard Kelly Roddy put TCNJ up 10-2 three minutes in. Sophomore forward Alexis Wright came back with a turnaround layup for Moravian. Sophomore guard Kelly Coughlin responded for the Lions with a three-pointer from the corner for the 13-6 lead five minutes into the game.
TCNJ extended its lead to 14 points at 22-8 with 10:30 remaining in the first half. Freshman guard Steph Peterson went on a 5-0 run with a layup and a three-pointer to make the score 22-13. The Lions ended Moravian's run and went back up 27-13 with 6:33 to play in the half.
Junior guard Alyssa Hann made her own offense by stealing the ball and taking it right in for the layup to make the score 28-16 with four minutes left in the half. After a three by the Lions, Jordan tallied a layup, and Wright added a three-point play off a lay-in and a free throw to make the score 31-21 with 2:34 to play in the half. TCNJ added a bucket to take the 33-21 lead into the locker room.
The Lions shot 50-percent from the field while the Greyhounds shot 31-percent from the field in the first half. TCNJ held the edge in rebounds at 17-15 while committing two less turnovers. Wright led Moravian with seven points and four rebounds after 20 minutes while Coughlin tallied nine points for the Lions.
Wright started the second half with back-to-back layups to make the score 33-25. Wright added another layup for a TCNJ score, and junior guard Katie O'Rourke stole the ball on the next possession and sent it to Hann for the lay-in. A three from the corner by junior guard Danielle Brogan brought the Greyhounds within three at 35-32 with 14:27 to play in the contest.
A three-pointer by Coughlin put TCNJ back up 38-32 seven minutes into the second half. Jordan hit an open layup, but Roddy nailed a three from the corner to put the Lions up 43-35 with ten minutes remaining in the game.
A free throw and a layup on the next possession by Wright made the score 43-38 with seven minutes to play. Back-to-back scores by Vigo put TCNJ back up 47-38. Moravian then went on a 6-0 with points coming by Wright and senior guard Amanda Kreuder to make the score 47-44.
After a lay-in by Vigo, Wright went to the hole for the layup while getting fouled. She converted the free throw for the three-point play to make the score 49-47 with 3:25 to play. Goldbach answered with a three from the corner to make the score 52-47.
A free throw from Wright and two by freshman guard Angelica Esposito put the Lions up 54-48 with 1:18 to play. A layup by O'Rourke made the score 54-50 with 30 seconds left in the game. That would be as close as the Greyhounds got as the Lions went onto win 60-53.
Wright led the way with her tenth double-double of the season off of 24 points and 13 rebounds. Jordan added eight rebounds and six points while Peterson had six points. Hann finished with six points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals while O'Rourke had five points and three assists.
Vigo and Coughlin both finished with 12 points while Goldbach added ten points and four rebounds. O'Donnell put up eight points while Esposito tallied six points in the contest.
TCNJ shot 39-percent from the field while Moravian shot 38-percent from the field for the game. The Greyhound held the edge in rebounds at 38-35 while the Lions committed two less turnovers for the game. TCNJ took advantage of the turnovers, scoring 25 points off of 22 turnovers while Moravian scored 14 points off of 20 turnovers.
The Greyhounds return to the court on Wednesday, January 16th as they travel to Landmark Conference foe The United States Merchant Marine Academy. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
