KINGS POINT, N.Y. – On the day the first NCAA Division III regional rankings were released with the Moravian College women's basketball ranked No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic, the Greyhounds had to be sure to not look ahead to playoff basketball with regular-season work still to be done.
The Greyhounds took care of business with a 76-50 victory at The United States Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday night in Landmark Conference action, featuring four Moravian women in double-figures and the second lowest turnover total of the season.
"It was very important to start the theme of focusing on winning these games," Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk said. "We had to get back on track after a loss, and we did just that. We noticeably played with a lot more energy and teamwork. It was a perfect way to start this final stretch of games."
Freshman guard Nellie Tanguay scored a career-high 11 points after hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Senior point guard Katie O'Rourke led all scorers with 14 points (8-of-10 FT) and added seven rebounds and four assists.
Senior forward Ericka Blair and Laura Jordan netted 12 and 10 points, respectively, while the duo matched the Greyhounds' Division III-leading shot block average by themselves with five from Jordan and three from Blair. Moravian finished with 12 more blocks as a team as the women continue to lead the nation in the statistical category.
The Greyhounds (18-4, 9-2 Landmark) only committed 11 turnovers and used a 90.5 percent mark from the free throw line (19-of-21) to cruise to a win on the road.
The Mariners (4-17, 0-11 Landmark) kept it close early, leading 12-9 with 12:27 to play in the first half after a Demi VanDerWal 3-pointer. The Moravian response was immediate and furious.
The Hounds sunk three consecutive jump shots in as many possessions by freshman guard Morgan Calabrese, Jordan and O'Rourke. Sophomore swing Alesha Marcks (seven points, two blocks) capped the 8-0 run with a layup for the 17-12 lead the Hounds would not give up for the remainder of the evening.
VanDerWal (14 points, 5-of-10 shooting) made another trey to cut the lead, but Moravian again had the convincing answer with a 20-4 run over six minutes to close out the half. The Greyhounds led 40-25 at the intermission.
The Greyhounds kept their focus in the second half, stringing together another run to the tune of 8-2 to extend the comfortable cushion. Blair had a personal 6-0 run during that stretch with two jumpers and two freebies from the charity stripe.
The rookie Tanguay took over moments later with a jumper and two of her four 3-pointers over a three-minute stretch as the Greyhounds led by as many as 30 at 65-35 midway through the final stanza.
Coming down the stretch run of the regular season, rest for the veteran players and traditional starting five becomes paramount ahead of the conference and national tournaments. With the lead, Spirk was pleased to see sophomore Karlee Corvasce and freshman Cori Weiss contribute productive minutes off the bench.
Corvasce had an action-packed five minutes on the hardwood in New York with four points, four rebounds, two blocked shots and an assist. Weiss drained a 3-pointer on one of her two field goal attempts as the Hounds closed out the victory.
Three Landmark Conference games remain on the 2013-14 regular season schedule, and the Greyhounds will focus on taking the business-first mentality sharpened in the USMMA game into the homestretch. Still in third place in the conference, Moravian concludes the season with home games against the league's top two teams, The University of Scranton and The Catholic University of America.
The three-game stint kicks off this Saturday, Feb. 15 at Susquehanna University in a 4 p.m. tipoff.