BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College women's basketball team defeated Susquehanna University, 68-51, Saturday afternoon in Landmark Conference action. Junior center Laura Jordan led the way with 14 points, five rebounds and career-high six steals.
With the victory Saturday and The Catholic University of America defeating The University of Scranton, Moravian and Catholic will be the top two seeds in the 2013 Landmark Conference Tournament and host the semifinal finals games on Wednesday, February 20th. Scranton and Juniata College will be the other two teams in the tournament. Final seeding will be determined with the final two conference games next week.
Jordan put Moravian (20-3, 11-1 Landmark) on the board first with a baseline jumper. Senior guard Shannon Grunwald answered with a jumper of her own for the Crusaders (7-16, 2-10 Landmark). Junior guard Katie O'Rourke hit a three from the wing for the 5-2 lead two minutes in.
Back-to-back scores by junior guard Mariah Monahan put Susquehanna up 6-5 three minutes in. Seven minutes into the contest freshman forward Alesha Marcks and sophomore forward Alexis Wright scored for Moravian for the 13-8 lead. Moravian added four more points from Jordan, Marcks and Wright to cap a 14-0 run for the 21-8 lead with nine minutes to play.
Grunwald ended the Greyhounds run with a lay-in to make the score 21-10 with eight minutes to play in the half. Senior forward Gina Palazzi came back with a baseline jumper to put the score at 21-12. After trading scores, Jordan hit a baseline jumper for the 25-14 Moravian advantage with 5:23 left in the half. Jordan ended the half with a put-back layup for the 31-17 lead.
Moravian shot 26-percent from the field while Susquehanna shot 29-percent from the field at the half. The Greyhounds held the edge in rebounds at 25-24 while committing 12 less turnovers. Jordan led Moravian at the half with 12 points and six steals while Monahan had eight points and three assists for the Crusaders.
Wright recorded the first basket of the second half for the Greyhounds. Monahan answered with a jumper for the Crusaders. After free throws by Wright, O'Rourke stole the inbound pass and took it in for the layup for the 37-19 lead three minutes in. Jordan added a jumper, but senior guard Ainsley Rossitto responded with lay-in to put the score at 39-21.
Junior forward Ericka Blair made back-to-back layups, and Wright followed with a lay-in of her own for the 49-24 lead with 11 minutes to play. After two free throws by Grunwald, Monahan hit a pull-up jumper for Susquehanna to put the score at 51-30 with 8:41 to play.
The Greyhounds then went on 6-0 run that was capped by a block from Marcks that led to a lay-in for O'Rourke and the 57-31 lead with 6:45 to play in the game. After a Ainsley free throw, Palazzi and Monahan tallied scores to put the score at 57-38 with five minutes remaining. Junior guard Alyssa Hann answered with a three from the wing for the 60-38 lead. Moravian would hold the lead to win 68-51.
Wright finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for Moravian while O'Rourke had nine points, six rebounds and four steals. Marcks added six points, five boards and three blocks while Kreuder scored seven points.
Monahan led the Crusaders with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Palazzi added a double-double off of 14 points and 13 rebounds while Rossitto had seven points, four rebounds and three steals.
Moravian shot 32-percent from the field while Susquehanna shot 31-percent from the field for the game. The Crusaders held the edge in rebounds at 52-48 while the Greyhounds committed 17 less turnovers.
Moravian returns to the court on Wednesday, February 13th as they travel to Landmark foe The University of Scranton. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
