ONEONTA, N.Y. --- Moravian College senior forward Alexis Wright hit double figures in points for the 50th time in her career with a team-high 14 points, and she also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for her third straight double-double to lead the Greyhounds to a 56-51 victory over host Hartwick College in the opening day of the Holiday Inn Classic Saturday evening.
Wright also had a pair of blocked shots, and she was 4-for-5 at the foul line in the second half as the Hounds went 11-for-14 at the charity stripe to hold off the Hawks for the win. Wright now has 27 double-doubles in her career. Junior forward Alesha Marcks was also 4-for-5 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes of action, and Marcks finished with 12 points and six rebounds while junior guard Emily MacDonnell added 11 points for Moravian.
Sophomore guard Nellie Tanguay tossed in eight points for the Hounds, and she grabbed five rebounds while sophomore guard Morgan Calabrese added six points, four boards and a team-high four assists. Freshman guard Taylor Freeman contributed three points and a pair of steals for the Greyhounds while freshman forward Trista Cunningham had a career-high five rebounds and two points.
Moravian scored the opening points of the game on a jumper by Tanguay, and the Greyhounds would never trail in the first half. Leading 10-8 at the 7:28 mark, the Greyhounds scored nine straight points to take a 19-8 lead on a jumper from Calabrese with just 5:30 before the intermission. The Hounds would keep the lead at halftime but it was cut to four points, 23-19.
Hartwick netted the first four points of the second half to tie the score for the third time at 23-23 but Moravian eventually pulled ahead 30-25 on a lay-up from Wright. The Hawks hit a three-pointer with 10:40 to play in the game to take their first lead of the game, 36-35. Hartwick had a three-point play for a 41-39 lead with 7:11 to go before MacDonnell hit a jumper at 5:08 to put the Hounds back in front.
The Greyhounds took a four-point lead, 48-44, with 3:14 remaining on a three-point play by Marcks, and the Hounds then hit 6-of-8 free throws over the final 2:38 to seal the victory.
Moravian will complete its trip to the Holiday Inn Classic at Hartwick on Sunday, November 23 when the Hounds place SUNY Oneonta at 4:00 p.m.