NORTHAMPTON, Mass. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team rallied from a seven-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to post a 62-61 victory over Maine Maritime Academy in the opening round of the 27th Annual Tyler Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Smith (Mass.) College.
The Greyhounds, now 2-0, had three players in double figures led by senior forward Nadine Ewald, who had game highs of 20 points and 17 rebounds for her 23rd career double-double as she tied her career-high with 17 boards. Senior guard Maddie Capuano tossed in 19 points to go with three rebounds while sophomore guard Kayla Yoegel tied her career-high with 11 points.
Freshman guard Madison Amy scored seven points to go with two rebounds while freshman guard Morgan Amy added four points and two boards. Junior forward Jordan Beneducci had two rebounds and one point while senior guard Karlie Brogan contributed five rebounds and three assists.
Maine Maritime jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Morgan Amy scored the Hounds' first bucket of the contest. Capuano connected on a three-point play to get the Blue and Grey within two points but the Mariners pushed the lead back to seven. Madison Amy hit a late three-pointer to close the deficit to three points at 17-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Just over two minutes into the second period, Moravian would tie the game for the first time on a three-pointer from Ewald, and the Greyhounds took a 21-19 lead on a jumper by Madison Amy. Trailing by a point, Yoegel hit back-to-back three-pointers and Morgan Amy hit a jumper that would send the Hounds to the locker room with a 32-25 advantage.
Capuano hit a jumper to put the Blue and Grey ahead 34-27 two minutes into the second half before Maine Maritime went on an 11-0 run to take a 38-34 lead. Capuano stopped the run with a pair of free throws but the Mariners would eventually hit a shot just before the buzzer to lead 48-41 after 30 minutes of action.
Moravian started the fourth quarter with a lay-up from Capuano and a three-point play by Ewald to get within two points 21 seconds into the period. However, the Greyhounds wouldn't get any closer over the next five minutes. Eventually, Ewald connected on another three-point play to pull the Hounds within a point at 57-56 with 2:56 remaining, and 30 seconds later, Capuano put Moravian ahead 59-57 with a three-point play. Maine Maritime tied the score twice more before Ewald hit the winning free throw with 17 seconds on the clock.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to play host Smith in the championship game of the 27th Annual Tyler Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday, November 17 at 4:00 p.m.
