MADISON, N.J. --- The nationally-ranked Moravian College women's basketball team remained undefeated in Landmark Conference action, improving to 10-0 in conference action with a 66-50 victory at Drew University Wednesday night as the Greyhounds clinched their 12th straight postseason appearance and sixth consecutive Landmark Conference Tournament berth.
The Greyhounds, ranked 19th in the USA Today Sports/WBCA Top 25 Poll and 23rd in the D3hoops.com Top 25, scored first on a lay-up by junior forward Laura Jordan at 19:27. The Rangers would tie the game at 2-2 on a layup from senior guard Whitney Mackay at 18:51. Sophomore forward Alexis Wright and Jordan scored in the paint to give Moravian a 6-2 lead. Drew senior guard Jennifer Mateo hit a three-pointer to pull the Rangers within a point, 6-5, with 15:28 to go in the opening half.
Jordan hit a jumper at 13:17 to cap a 5-0 run for the Greyhounds to put Moravian ahead 11-5. A three-pointer by senior guard Jeramie Bartletta and a free throw from freshman center Erin Howard pulled the Rangers within two, 11-9. Moravian would hold a 15-9 lead after a jumper from Wright midway through the first half but Drew would score eight of the next ten points in the game to tie the score at 17-17 on a lay-up by freshman guard/forward Courtney Stephens with 7:03 before the intermission.
The Rangers would then move ahead 19-17 on a lay-up from Becky Smith two minutes later. Senior guard Amanda Kreuder tied the game for the Greyhounds at 19-19 with 3:45 on the clock, and another lay-up from Kreuder put Moravian back in front. Kreuder made two free throws to give Moravian a 23-21 lead before Drew sophomore guard Breana Wilson tied the game at 23-23 with two free throws 11 seconds before the break. Wright would connect with a lay-up to beat the clock and send the Greyhounds to the locker room with a 25-23 lead.
Moravian, now 19-2 overall this season, connected on ten-of-29 field goal attempts (34.5 percent) and five-of-six free throw attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The Greyhounds, who missed both of their three-point attempts, committed 12 turnovers in the first half while the Rangers had nine turnovers. Drew struggled shooting the ball in the opening half, making just eight-of-38 field goal attempts (21.1 percent), two-of-12 three-pointers and five-of-six free throws. The Rangers had a 35-24 edge on the boards in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Wright opened the scoring in the second half with a lay-up just 14 seconds into the half, and Jordan would add two free throws as Moravian built a 29-23 lead 45 seconds into the second half. Mateo would get the first basket of the second half for Drew but Moravian would quickly push its lead to double figures, 37-27, on a jumper from junior guard Katie O'Rourke at 16:27.
The Rangers would close within five points, 42-37, after a three-pointer from Mackay with 12:22 remaining in the game; however, that would be as close as Drew would get the rest of the way. The Greyhounds pushed their lead back into double digits, 50-39, on two free throws from Jordan with 10:12 to go, and Moravian would get its largest lead of the game at 17 points, 58-41, on a lay-up from Kreuder with 7:15 to play. Wright finished the scoring with two free throws with 1:54 remaining to set the final score at 66-50.
Moravian's shooting improved in the second half as the Greyhounds connected on 15-of-33 field goal attempts (45.5 percent) and 11-of-14 free throws in the final 20 minutes. Moravian missed all three of its three-point attempts in the second half, but the Greyhounds dominated the boards in the second half to finish the game with a 54-41 in rebounds. Moravian had eight turnovers in the second half to finish with 20 in the game while Drew had 16 turnovers in the contest. The Rangers were ten-for-31 from the field (32.3 percent), two-for-five on three-pointers and just five-for-11 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes of action.
Jordan, Kreuder and Wright all finished with 16 points for the Greyhounds with Jordan adding 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, and she had five of Moravian's nine blocked shots. Wright just missed her 13th double-double of the year with nine rebounds to go with three assists while Kreuder grabbed six boards. Freshman forward Alesha Marcks added five points and five rebounds for the Greyhounds while junior guard Alyssa Hann had five points. O'Rourke finished with eight rebounds, seven assists, four points and three steals while junior guard Danielle Brogan grabbed seven boards.
Stephens led the Rangers with 12 points and ten rebounds while Wilson, Mackay and Howards each had seven points with Howard contributing six blocked shots and five rebounds. Wilson contributed four assists, four steals and three boards for Drew.
Moravian returns to action on Saturday, February 2nd in a Landmark Conference game at Juniata College tipping off at 5:00 p.m. in Huntingdon.
