BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The top-seeded Moravian College women's basketball team defeated No. 8 seed Neumann University, 72-52, Wednesday evening in the ECAC Division III South Championship Quarterfinals. Sophomore forward Alexis Wright led the way for the Greyhounds with her 14th double-double of the season off of 18 points and 11 rebounds to go with her four steals and two blocks.
Junior guard Laura Scott netted the first point of the game for Neumann. Junior guard Katie O'Rourke answered with two free throws for Moravian. Wright then hit a turnaround layup for the 4-1 lead.
Four minutes in, O'Rourke would steal the ball and take it to the hole for the easy lay-in and the 8-3 lead. A steal by freshman guard Sarah Roberts led to a layup by senior guard Bethany Humenik, but Wright answered with a lay-in of her own for the 10-5 lead six minutes in. Senior guard Amanda Kreuder added two free throws and a layup before a lay-in by freshman guard Emily MacDonnell put Moravian up 16-5 with 13:36 to play in the half.
Sophomore guard Jessica Schlesman hit a three from the corner to end the Greyhounds 10-0 run while putting the score 18-8 seven minutes in. The Greyhounds then went on a 7-0 run with points by Kreuder, junior forward Ericka Blair, freshman guard Karine Polgar and O'Rourke for the 25-8 lead nine minutes into the game.
Humenik ended the Hounds run with a layup for the Knights. Freshman forward JoHanna Metzger then hit two free throws to put the score 25-12. Junior guard Danielle Brogan lined up a three to put Moravian up 28-12 with eight minutes remaining in the half. Junior guard Collenn Hinde answered with a three of her own for the Knights.
Humenik then drove to the hole for the lay-in while drawing the foul. She converted the free throw to make the score 28-17 with 6:38 left in the half. Marcks ended Neumann's run with a turnaround jumper. Wright added a layup off her own steal for the 32-18 lead.
After a bucket from Humenik, Marcks hit back-to-back jumpers for the 36-20 lead with five minutes left in half. Kreuder added a lay-in after cutting through traffic, but Metzger answered with a steal and layup to put the score at 38-22 with four minutes left in the half. Both teams exchanged scores in the remaining minutes of the half as the Greyhounds took a 42-28 lead into halftime.
Moravian shot 38-percent from the field while Neumann shot 33-percent from the field for the half. The Greyhounds held a 25-18 rebounding advantage while committing six less turnovers. Wright led Moravian with ten points and seven rebounds at the half while Metzger put up ten points, five boards and three blocks for the Knights.
A steal by junior center Laura Jordan led to a baseline jumper from Wright for the first bucket of the second half. Hinde hit a turnaround layup to make the score 45-30 four minutes in.
Kreuder would drive to the hole and make the layup while getting fouled to put Moravian up 49-32 seven minutes into the second half. Polgar nailed a three from the corner, and Wright added a layup for the 54-32 lead with 11 minutes to play.
Freshman forward Nicole Fallon, Humenik and Metzger tallied three straight scores to put the score at 54-38 with ten minutes remaining in the game. Jordan hit a layup after two free throws by Humenik to make the score 56-40 with 8:34 remaining.
Hinde and Scott tallied back-to-back scores to put the game at 56-44, Moravian with 7:20 to play. Junior guard Alyssa Hann then grabbed an offensive rebound for the put-back. Hann then stole the inbound pass that lead to a three by Brogan. Wright added a 15-footer for the 63-44 Greyhound advantage with 5:45 to play.
Scott ended the Greyhounds run with layup to put the score at 63-46. O'Rourke came back with a jumper, and Hann added a lay-in for the 67-46 lead with four minutes remaining. Moravian would maintain its lead as they went onto win 72-52.
O'Rourke finished with 12 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals while going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Kreuder added ten points and three assists while Marcks had eight points and four rebounds. Brogan had six points off of two three-pointers while Jordan had seven rebounds, three blocks and three points.
The Knights were led by Metzger, who had a double-double off of 14 points and ten rebounds to go with her six blocks. Fallon had five blocks and four rebounds while Humenik had 15 points and three assists. Scottt had nine points and six rebounds while Hinde had nine points.
Moravian and Neumann shot 32-percent from the field for the contest. The Greyhounds went 15-of-18 from the free throw line for the game. Moravian held the rebounding edge at 58-40 while committing seven less turnovers.
Top-seed Moravian will take on No. 4 seed Juniata College on Saturday, March 2nd inside Johnston Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
