BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Senior forward Nadine Ewald hit a pair of milestones while helping lead the Moravian College women's basketball team to a 66-56 non-conference win over visiting Immaculata University in Johnston Hall Saturday afternoon.
Ewald, who returned after missing a game with an injury, had her seventh double-double of the season and the 29th of her career as she contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds to go with three assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. With her first field goal of the game, Ewald became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, and her first rebound of the second half and eighth of the afternoon made her the sixth player to reach 750 career rebounds. Ewald now has 1,012 points and 756 rebounds in 85 career games to go with 129 assists, 90 steals and 80 blocked shots.
"Congratulations to Nadine on hitting both milestones this afternoon," stated Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "She's worked hard throughout her career, and she just keeps getting better. Nadine has been tough to play against inside especially this season. We're looking forward to seeing how she finishes out her career."
The Greyhounds, who are 6-3 overall this season, had two other players in double figures with senior guard Maddie Capuano netting a game-high 26 points to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Capuano became the ninth player in program history to reach 1,400 career points, now with 1,412. Senior guard Karlie Brogan added 10 points, four rebounds and two steals in the victory.
Freshman guard Jackie Kelly tossed in four points to go with five rebounds while sophomore guard Kayla Yoegel and Alix Buskirk and freshman guard Madison Amy all had three points with Amy adding five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals and Yoegel blocking two shots. Freshman forward Emily Markowski contributed five steals, four rebounds and two points while junior forward Jordan Beneducci had a pair of assists.
The Mighty Macs hit the first three points of the afternoon before a jumper by Brogan, a free throw from Ewald and a lay-up by Capuano had Moravian leading 5-3. Immaculata tied the game at 5-5 before a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Kelly had the Blue and Grey leading 14-5 with 2:35 left in the opening quarter. Capuano hit on a trey and Amy added a jumper as the Hounds held a 19-8 after 10 minutes of action.
Immaculata started the second quarter with a 10-0 run to close within a point, 19-18, before Ewald hit a lay-up at the 6:05 mark. The Mighty Macs knotted the score at 21-21 but Capuano hit a jumper on the next trip down the floor to give Moravian the lead for good. The Hounds scored the next six points including two free throws by Capuano and a jumper from Ewald in the final 2.6 seconds of the half to head to the locker room with a 29-21 edge.
The Greyhounds pushed the lead into double digits less than two minutes into the third quarter when a three-pointer from Capuano made it a 34-22 advantage. Immaculata would push back and closed within five points at 35-30 but another 9-0 from the Blue and Grey had the lead at 14 points, 44-30, after a free throw by Amy with 2:11 left in the third period. The Mighty Macs finished the quarter with an 8-2 run to close the score to 46-38 after 30 minutes of action.
Early in the fourth quarter, Immaculata would get within four points but that would be as close as the Mighty Macs would get. Brogan finished off the scoring on a lay-up with 37 seconds to play to push the final spread back into double digits.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Monday, December 16 when the squad hosts No. 23 Albright College in a non-conference game tipping off at 1:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall. It is Community Day at Moravian with the student body from William Penn Elementary School attending the game and all Moravian faculty and staff members receiving free admission and a t-shirt.
