HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The nationally-ranked No. 19/23 Moravian College women's basketball team fell to Landmark Conference rival Juniata College, 73-63, Saturday evening. Junior forward Kate McDonald led the way for the Eagles with 36 points and 14 rebounds.
McDonald scored the first points of the game for Juniata. Sophomore guard Kelsey Livoti added a jumper for the quick 4-0 lead. Junior guard Danielle Brogan hit a three for the Greyhounds to make the score 4-3 a minute in.
A minute later a three by junior guard Jordan Hileman put the Eagles up 10-3. Moravian would come within three points at 15-12 after a three by junior center Laura Jordan five minutes in. Juniata then went on a 6-0 run for the 21-12 lead seven minutes into the contest.
Back-to-back scores by junior guard Katie O'Rourke and a three from Brogan put the score at 21-19, Juniata with 11:12 remaining in the half. A jumper by freshman guard Dennison Paige put the Eagles up 25-21. Moravian answered with an 7-0 run with points from freshman forward Alesha Marcks, sophomore forward Alexis Wright and Brogan for the 28-25 lead with 5:47 left in the half.
A three by Livoti ended the Greyhounds run and tied the contest at 28. After trading scores, O'Rourke drilled a three to knot the contest at 33 with three minutes left in the half. Freshman guard Steph Peterson added a layup with eight seconds left in the half for the 37-35 lead.
Senior guard Jordan Speck started the second half with a lay-in for Juniata. Senior guard Natalie Glinsky hit a three from the corner after both teams traded scores to put the Eagles up 48-41 four minutes in. Juniata added six more points before an O'Rourke three put the Hounds down 54-45 with 13 minutes left in the contest.
Moravian kept trading scores with Juniata until a lay-in by O'Rourke made the score 67-60, Juniata. Junior forward Ericka Blair added a layup while getting fouled. She converted the three-point play to put the score at 67-63 with 1:16 left in the game. The Greyhounds were unable to get another basket in the final minute as they fell 73-63.
O'Rourke led the way for Moravian with 19 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists while Brogan had ten points and five boards. Marcks added ten points and four rebounds while Wright finished with ten rebounds and eight points.
Hileman had 11 points for Juniata while Livoti added nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Dennison had nine points while Speck had eight boards and five points.
Moravian shot 36-percent from the field while Juniata shot 47-percent from the field for the game. The Eagles held the rebounding edge at 37-33 while the Greyhounds committed one less turnover.
#19/23 Moravian returns to the court on Saturday, February 9th as they host Susquehanna University. It's senior day and the Play 4 Kay game for the Greyhounds as the contest is set for 2 p.m.
