BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team is the fourth seed in the 2019 Landmark Conference Tournament and is set to travel to top seed The University of Scranton in a semifinal game on Thursday, February 21 tipping off at 7:00 p.m. in the John Long Center in Scranton. This is a date change due to the impending winter weather on February 20.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for children. All youth under the age of 10 are admitted free as are all students, faculty and staff with a valid ID from any of the eight Landmark Conference institutions. College students without a Landmark school ID and seniors are $4.
The Greyhounds are 16-9 overall this season and finished the Landmark regular season with an 8-6 mark while the No. 12 Royals are 23-2 overall and were 12-2 in Landmark action. During the regular season, the Royals swept the regular season series, winning 72-45 in Scranton on January 9 and 72-51 in Johnston Hall on February 6.
Thursday's other semifinal game has second seed Elizabethtown College hosting third seed The Catholic University of America at 7:00 p.m. The top remaining seed will host the 2019 Landmark Conference title game on Sunday, February 24 at 1:00 p.m. with an automatic berth to the 2019 NCAA Division III Tournament on the line.
Moravian Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk has the Greyhounds heading to the postseason for the 18th straight season, and for the 29th time in her 32 seasons leading the Moravian program. The Greyhounds are making their 11th Landmark Conference Tournament appearance after missing out in 2014-15 on a tiebreaker for the first time in the history of the conference. Spirk has a career record of 595-284 and is looking to lead the Greyhounds to their fourth conference title that would go with a Landmark championship in 2010 and Middle Atlantic Conference titles in 1991 and 1992. Spirk has led Moravian to the NCAA Division III Tournament nine times in her tenure including the NCAA Division III National Championship game in 1992 and a first round win at the University of New England in 2016.
On the court this season, junior guard Maddie Capuano leads the squad in scoring at 20.9 points per game, and her 523 points are the eighth most in a single season in school history. Capuano also tops the squad with 67 assists and 62 three-pointers to go with 29 steals, and she has moved into 12th school history with 1,231 points. Junior forward Nadine Ewald is averaging a double-double at 14.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest to go along with 61 assists, 31 steals and 20 blocked shots. Ewald has moved into 11th in school history with 640 career rebounds.
Junior guard Karlie Brogan is contributing 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing for the Greyhounds to go with 48 assists, 48 steals, 34 three-pointers and nine blocked shots while sophomore guard Jennifer McClave is adding 6.1 points per game to go along with 68 rebounds,61 assists and 23 steals. Senior guard Emily Walls and senior forward Ariana Caiati have split time as the fifth starter this winter. Walls is scoring 5.9 points per contest to go with 99 rebounds, 26 assists, 24 steals, 17 blocked shots and 19 three-pointers while Caiati is grabbing 4.2 rebounds per outing with 70 points, 16 assists and nine blocked shots.
Senior guard Tyis Mullen has 25 points, 23 assists, 16 steals and 15 assists having seen action in all 25 games with two starts while senior guard/forward Caitlin Flanagan has 43 rebounds and 22 points this year. Freshman guard Kayla Yoegel has contributed 30 rebounds and 28 assists in her first season while freshman guard Linnaea Leister has 17 points and nine boards. Sophomore forward Jordan Beneducci had 19 rebounds, 15 points and eight assists before being sidelined with an injury while junior guard Brooke Santy has 22 rebounds, 17 assists and 13 points.
Freshman guard Alix Buskirk has contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds in her debut season while sophomore guard Sarah Donati as 11 points and five boards. Freshman guard Hannah Fenstermacher has eight points this season while sophomore forward Raquel Lopez de Boer has added five points in her first year with the Greyhounds.
