BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team posted an 87-64 victory over visiting Goucher College Saturday afternoon in Johnston Hall behind the ninth double-double of the season by junior forward Nadine Ewald.
The Hounds, who are now 15-8 overall and 7-5 in Landmark Conference play, wore pink uniforms for the 12th straight year as the program raised money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Moravian, which is 7-5 all-time in pink, has raised $134,810 over the last 10 years while leading all of NCAA Division III in the Play4Kay contest. The day began with 32 of Moravian's alumni returning for the annual Alumni Game in Johnston Hall Saturday morning.
"This day is always special for our team with the alumni coming back and our annual Play4Kay game," stated Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "Having Sarah Womack from the Kay Yow Fund here was special not only for our team but for our community that has supported us for so long.
"Our team played hard from the start and really dominated the boards," continued Spirk. "We ran the court well and it was nice to see some production from our bench. Nadine did a great job inside and Maddie was very efficient distributing the ball to her teammates. We will need that kind of effort going forward as we finish out the regular season."
Ewald, who had her 21st career double-double, finished the game with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to go with three assists, and she raised her career rebound total to 617 boards, which is 13th all-time. Junior guard Maddie Capuano tossed in a game-high 19 points to go with eight boards, seven assists and a pair of steals as she moved up to 13th in school history with 1,178 points.
Junior guard Karlie Brogan contributed nine points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots while senior forward Ariana Caiati had nine points, six boards and three assists. Senior guard Emily Walls added six points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists while sophomore guard Jennifer McClave netted six points with four boards and three assists. Sophomore guard Sarah Donati and freshman guard Linnaea Leister each scored five points with Donati grabbing a pair of rebounds.
Freshman guard Hannah Fenstermacher hit on four free throws while senior guard forward Caitlin Flanagan added four rebounds and two points. Junior guard Brooke Santy and freshmen guards Kayla Yoegel and Alix Buskirk all had two points and two rebounds.
The Hounds connected on 34-of-88 field goal attempts, 4-of-20 three-pointers and 15-of-18 free throws in the game, and the Blue and Grey had a 66-37 advantage on the boards including 28-9 on the offensive glass. Moravian also had just eight turnovers while forcing the Gophers into 11 miscues.
Ewald scored the first basket of the game, and Moravian led 7-1 after a lay-up from Ewald at the 5:04 mark. The lead would reach eight points, 15-7, after a jumper from Flanagan before the Gophers closed within three points. Capuano ended the first quarter with two free throws to give the Greyhounds a 17-12 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Goucher scored eight of the first 10 points in the second quarter to take a 20-19 lead with 7:16 left in the period. Ewald would put the Hounds back in front for good with a lay-up that started an 8-0 run capped by a lay-up from Brogan at 4:47 for a 27-20 edge. The Gophers closed within four points before the Blue and Grey finished the half with an 11-2 run to head to the locker room with a 42-29 advantage.
Moravian outscored Goucher, 24-12, in the third quarter with a lay-up by Caiati pushing the lead to 30 points, 66-36, with two minutes left in the third period. The Hounds had a 66-41 edge after 30 minutes of play. In the fourth quarter, Fenstermacher gave the Blue and Grey its largest lead of the game, 33 points at 76-43 with 7:22 remaining.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to close out their 2018-19 home season with a Landmark Conference game on Wednesday, February 13 versus Susquehanna University beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall on Senior Day.
