BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's basketball team posted a 63-50 victory over Neumann University in the first round of the 17th Steel Club Classic in Johnston Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The Greyhounds, who had all 17 players in uniform play at least five minutes, had two players in double figures led by senior guard Maddie Capuano with a game-high 19 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Senior forward Nadine Ewald had her eighth double-double of the year and 30th of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists and two blocked shots. Capuano moved into eighth all-time with 1,431 points while Ewald is now 25th with 1,029 points and sixth all-time with 773 rebounds.
Senior guard Karlie Brogan tossed in eight points to go along with three rebounds and two steals while junior guard Sarah Donati netted a career-high seven points. Freshman guard Madison Amy added six points and a pair of rebounds while freshman forward Emily Markowski had four points. Sophomore guard Alix Buskirk and freshman guard Jackie Kelly each had three points with Buskirk grabbing three boards and Kelly adding two rebounds.
Junior forward Jordan Beneducci netted two points and added four rebounds while sophomore guard Kayla Yoegel had four board and three assists. Sophomore guard Khamyia Spence, freshman forward Baylee Guedes and senior guard Brooke Santy all had two rebounds while freshman guard Meghan Ansel had one point.
Neumann scored the first points of the contest before the Blue and Grey netted 10 straight points, starting and ending with baskets by Brogan, to take a 10-2 lead. The Knights cut the deficit to five points at 13-8 while a late basket from Capuano had Moravian leading 18-10 after 10 minutes of action.
Capuano would also start the second quarter with a three-pointer to push the lead into double digits for the first time. The Hounds had a 14-0 run in the middle of the period to make the advantage 40-14, and the Greyhounds headed to the locker room with a 45-21 advantage after Buskirk beat the buzzer with a jumper in the lane.
Neumann would outscore the Hounds, 29-18, in the second half as the Blue and Grey had their starters on the floor for just a few minutes of the third quarter.
Moravian, now 7-4 overall this winter, will face Lycoming College in the championship game of the tournament on Sunday, January 5 at 1:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall with tip-off set for 1:00 p.m. The Warriors defeated William Paterson University, 68-49 in Saturday's other first round contest. The Knights and the Pioneers will play the consolation contest at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
