Senior forward Amy Heffner scored 30 points for the second straight game and had a career 14 rebounds to lead Moravian College on a second half rally to defeat Neumann University, 99-82, in non-conference action Wednesday evening in Johnston Hall.
Heffner, who was named the Women's DIII News November Player of the Month earlier in the day, tied her career high in points for the second time this season after setting a new career high for four straight games as Moravian won its third straight contest after starting the year at 0-3.
The Knights had the upper hand early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on lay-up by senior forward Kieran Young and a three-pointer from sophomore guard/forward Bethany Humenik. Moravian's first points were a pair of free throws from junior forward Alexandra Blair, and the Greyhounds wouldn't score a field goal until the 14:07 mark on a put back basket by Heffner, cutting Neumann's lead to 13-7.
Freshman forward Helen Trimble hit a lay-up for Neumann with 9:36 to play in the first half, giving the Knights their largest lead of the game, 15 points at 29-14. Moravian answered with a 13-2 run to pull within five points, 34-29, with 4:16 before the intermission but that would be as close as the Greyhounds would get. Freshman guard Katie O'Rourke hit a long three-pointer at the buzzer for Moravian to set the halftime score at 42-37 Neumann.
The Knights had a hot shooting hand in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 18-for-42 from the floor (42.9 percent), five-for-13 behind the three-point line and one-for-five at the foul line. Neumann also had a 30-19 advantage in rebounds but had 12 turnovers to just nine for the Greyhounds. Moravian struggled shooting the ball in the first half especially early in the game, making 11-of-31 field goal attempts (35.5 percent), three-of-five three-pointers and 12-of-14 free throws.
Senior guard/forward Katie Young scored to open the second half for Neumann but Moravian would slowly close the game. With 14:12 remaining, Heffner hit a pair of free throws to give the Greyhounds their first lead of the game 49-48. The Knights kept the game close; tying the contest at 53-53 on a pair of Humenik free throws with 11:55 remaining but a three-pointer from Heffner 15 seconds later put Moravian ahead for good.
Ahead 58-57 with 10:57 to play in the game, Moravian went on an 11-1 run to take a 69-58 lead on two free throws from O'Rourke. The Greyhounds' lead did not drop below seven points the rest of the game, and Moravian made nine of ten free throws in the final 1:14 to seal their win.
The Greyhounds scored 62 points in the second half with a hot shooting touch. Moravian was 19-for-33 from the floor (57.6 percent), one-for-three on three-pointers and 23-for-27 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes. The Greyhounds had just two turnovers in the second half for 11 in the game while forcing Neumann into 20 turnovers. Moravian one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation over the last ten years, made 35-of-41 free throws (85.4 percent) in the game. Neumann saw its shooting touch cool in the second half, making ten-of-34 field goal attempts (29.4 percent), two-of-12 three-pointers and 19-of-28 free throws. The Knights did have a 54-36 edge in rebounds in the game.
Heffner was one of five Greyhounds in double figures in the contest. Blair had 18 points, three blocked shots and two rebounds while O'Rourke had a career high 18 points with five boards and two steals. Freshman forward Laura Jordan added a career high ten points to go with eight rebounds and three blocked shots while sophomore guard Amanda Kreuder had ten points, four assists and two steals. Senior guard Hilary Murray contributed eight points, five assists, two steals and two rebounds for the Greyhounds while freshman guard Caitlin Hrebik added three points, two rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Freshman forward Christine Peterlin added two points for Moravian.
Katie Young led four scorers in double figures for Neumann with 30 points to go with 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and a pair of steals. Freshman guard Erica Marvel had 11 points and three boards while Kieran Young had ten points, five rebounds and four assists. Humenik also had ten points to go with eight rebounds while senior guard Krista DiRomualdo had seven assists, seven rebounds and four points. Trimble tossed in eight points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Knights while junior guard Cecily Scavicchio had five points, four boards and two steals.