BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College women's basketball team improved to 3-0 in the Landmark Conference with an offensively balanced 71-55 victory over Goucher College on Saturday in Johnston Hall.
The Greyhounds (12-2) have won four straight games and head coach Mary Beth Spirk now sits at 499 career wins in 27 years at Moravian. She will get her first shot at the 500-Win Club on the road on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at Drew University in a 7 p.m. contest.
Freshman Morgan Calabrese tossed in a career-high 14 points versus the Gophers, including a 4-of-6 mark from three-point range. The rookie also added three steals in 16 minutes of court time.
"I think we played well as a team," said Calabrese, whose previous career-high was 11 points in an 85-53 win over The United States Merchant Marine Academy on Dec. 15. "Everybody contributed; it wasn't just me. Every player on this team played their part. It's always a plus to get a win after a game like that and hopefully we can keep this winning streak going."
Thirteen different Greyhounds scored a bucket in the victory with senior captains Katie O'Rourke and Danielle Brogan each netting nine, while senior forward Ericka Blair and sophomore swing Alesha Marcks each scored six points. Senior guard Alyssa Hann matched her career-high with five assists.
Moravian never trailed on Saturday and held a double-digit lead as early as 5:30 into the game at 14-4. The Greyhounds extended the lead to 20 with 2:49 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Calabrese.
"That's always been my thing, even in high school," said Calabrese, who is shooting 48 percent from long distance this season. "I'm trying to work on other parts of my game, but the three-pointer is definitely my specialty. I practice it a lot."
The Greyhounds took a 40-17 lead into halftime after shooting 47 percent from the floor.
Calabrese capped a 9-0 Moravian run with 14 minutes left in the second half with a driving layup after hitting another one of her four treys during the Greyhound scoring run to take a 57-27 lead, their largest of the game.
Goucher would cut the deficit to 65-48 with four minutes to play as a group of Moravian reserves got in some much-deserved minutes on the hardwood. Freshman Natalie Vanderlaan-Meyering added three of Moravian's 10 blocked shots down the stretch.
The Greyhounds' 10 blocks will increase their NCAA Division III-leading average, which stood at 7.8 per game as of games played through Jan. 5.
Moravian held a 33-31 lead in rebounding as well as advantages in the special scoring categories of points in the paint (34-18), points off turnovers (28-19), second-chance points (17-15), fast-break points (10-2) and bench points (38-13).
The Greyhounds head out on a short road stint with two Landmark Conference games scheduled for next week. Moravian visits Drew University on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. before traveling to The Catholic University of America on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.