SCRANTON, Pa. --- The 23rd–ranked Moravian College women's basketball team rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a three-point lead with just over seven minutes to play but the Greyhounds couldn't hold on, falling to The University of Scranton, 64-57, on the road in Landmark Conference action Wednesday evening.
The Royals, now 17-7 overall and 9-4 in Landmark action, would score first on a lay-up from sophomore forward Meredith Mesaris on the first possession of the game. Moravian, ranked in the latest USA Today Sports/WBCA Top 25 poll fell to 20-4 overall and 11-2 in conference play, tied the score at 2-2 on a pair of free throws from junior guard Katie O'Rourke at 19:20. Scranton pulled back in front on a jumper from senior forward Erin Boggan.
Sophomore forward Alexis Wright tied the game at 4-4 for the Greyhounds on a lay-up at 18:06 and started an 8-0 run for Moravian. The Greyhounds, who were wearing their pink uniforms for the second consecutive game as Scranton hosted its Play 4Kay game, would take a 10-4 lead on two free throws from O'Rourke with 15:45 left in the opening half.
Scranton answered with a 5-0 run to pull within a point, 10-9, on a jumper by Boggan at 14:49. Junior forward Laura Jordan pushed Moravian's edge back to three points at 12-9. The Royals retook the lead at 13-12 on a jumper from Mesaris with ten minutes left in the first half, and a lay-up from Mesaris gave Scranton a 17-12 advantage with just over eight minutes left before the intermission.
Wright would snap the Scranton run with a lay-up but the Royals built a seven-point lead, their largest of the game at 23-16, on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Lisa Disciascio with 6:02 before halftime. The Greyhounds would close within two points, 25-23, on a jumper from Jordan with 2:50 on the clock, but Scranton would finish the half on a 7-2 run to head to the locker room with a 32-25 lead after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Lindsay Fluehr late in the opening half.
The Greyhounds connected on ten-of-28 (35.7 percent) of their field goal attempts and five-of-six free throws in the first 20 minutes of the game; however, the squad missed all three of its three-point attempts. Moravian also committed 15 turnovers in the first half while Scranton had 14 turnovers. The Royals were 12-for-33 (36.3 percent) from the field, three-for-ten on three-pointers and five-for-eight at the foul line. Scranton had a 24-17 advantage on the boards in the opening half.
Moravian came out and scored the first six points of the second half to pull within a point, 32-31, at the 15:55 mark. Jordan started the half with a jumper before four free throws by senior guard Amanda Kreuder. Scranton would finally get on the scoreboard in the second half on a lay-up from Fluehr at the 13:46 mark.
Another basket from Fluehr with just over 11 minutes to play put the Royals on top, 38-33; however, Moravian closed within a point at 38-37, on a jumper from freshman forwards Alesha Marcks and two more free throws from Kreuder. The Greyhounds would tie the game at 40-40 on a three-pointer from O'Rourke at 8:23, and Moravian moved in front, 42-40, on a lay-up from Wright with 7:35 left.
The Greyhounds had a 44-41 advantage after a jumper by Marcks with 7:16 remaining but Scranton moved back in front, 46-44 on another three-pointer by Disciascio with 6:18 to play. Moravian would tie the game again at 46-46 on a jumper from Jordan 28 seconds later. However, the Royals scored the next five points with a three-pointer by freshman guard Jaclyn Gantz giving Scranton a 51-46 lead with 4:54 remaining. The Greyhounds would not get any closer than three points the rest of the way.
Moravian struggled shooting the ball in the second half, making just ten-of-43 field goal attempts (23.3 percent) and one-of-four three-pointers in the final 20 minutes. The Greyhounds were 11-of-12 at the foul line in the second half to finish the game 16-for-18 at the charity stripe. Moravian committed 24 turnovers in the game while forcing Scranton into 31 turnovers. The Royals, who finished the game with a 48-44 edge in rebounds, were ten-for-26 from the field (38.5 percent), two-for-seven behind the three-point line and ten-for-12 at the foul line in the second half of the contest.
The Greyhounds had three players in double figures with Kreuder and Wright each netting a team high 13 points. Kreuder added six rebounds and three steals while Wright had seven rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals. Wright is now just three rebounds shy of 500 in her career. Jordan finished the game with 12 points and four boards while O'Rourke tossed in seven points to go with a team high nine rebounds and five assists for Moravian. Marcks had six points and four rebounds off the bench.
Boggan led Scranton with a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds while Disciascio tossed in 16 points and grabbed five boards. Fluehr had ten points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Royals while Mesaris finished with nine points and five boards.
The Greyhounds will close out their 2013 regular season on Saturday, February 16th when the head to #12/13 The Catholic University of America for a Landmark Conference game starting at 4:00 p.m. The winner of that game will be the top seed for the 2013 Landmark Conference Tournament beginning on Wednesday, February 20th. The losing team on Saturday will still be the second seed in the Landmark Tournament and host the other semifinal game next Wednesday.
