BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Something had to give in Saturday's non-conference women's basketball game between Albright and Moravian. The Lions entered the game ranked 25th in the nation and were the owners of an 8-0 record, while Moravian entered the game on a nine-game winning streak.
Albright made sure it was Moravian that gave as senior Kelecia Harris had 21 points and 11 rebounds and sophomore Nina Mazzarelli added 17 points and eight rebounds as the Lions posted a 73-66 victory over the Greyhounds in Johnston Hall.
Albright, which improved to 9-0 on the season, built up a 15-point lead in the third quarter and then held off a late Moravian charge by making 9-of-12 free throw attempts down the stretch.
Alysha Lofton also posted a double-double for Albright as she finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jane Joyce and Shannon Thomas each finished with nine points.
The Lions shot 46.2 percent from the floor, including 53.6 percent in the first half, and made a season-best 80.0 (20-of-25) percent of their free throw attempts.
Moravian, which dropped to 9-2 overall on the year, was led by Camille McPherson who had 19 points, while Alesha Marcks finished with 18 points.
Albright limited Moravian to just 34.8 percent shooting for the game, which marked the eighth time in nine contests the Lions have held an opponent under 40 percent shooting.
Moravian raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter, but following a timeout the Lions responded with 10-2 run to take the lead.
Harris started the run with a layup and Thomas followed with a three-pointer and Mazzarelli capped the run with a layup giving the Lions a 12-10 lead with 4:00 left in the first quarter.
After Karine Polgar tied the game with a jumper for Moravian, Harris put the Lions back ahead with a layup with 32 seconds left in the opening quarter. Moravian scored at the buzzer on another basket by Polgar to tie the game at 14-14 after one quarter.
Albright used a run late in the second quarter to take the lead.
Trailing by 23-21 with 6:05 to play in the quarter, Albright ripped off a 10-2 run to take the lead for good.
Thomas capped the run with a three-point play and a three-pointer that gave the Lions a 31-25 lead with 2:43 left before halftime.
Moravian cut the lead to 33-31 on a free throw by Marcks, but Emily O'Donnell scored inside giving Albright a 35-31 lead at the intermission.
Albright opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 46-31 lead with 6:57 to play in the third quarter.
Joyce scored four points and Mazzarelli added three points as the Lions took a commanding lead.
Moravian whittled the lead down to 49-42, but Harris converted a three-point play and Mazzarelli knocked down a pair of free throws giving the Lions a 54-42 lead after three quarters.
The Greyhounds would not go without a fight as they climbed to within 58-55 on a three-pointer by McPherson, but Mazzarelli drilled a three-pointer following an Albright timeout to push the lead to 61-55 with 6:09 left in the game.
Lofton connected on a pair of free throws with 1:04 to play that gave the Lions a 65-59 lead, but Moravian got a layup from Marcks and a jumper by Polgar to cut the lead to 67-63 with 46 seconds left in the game.
Harris made two free throws to extend the Albright lead to 69-63, but Morgan Calabrese drilled a three-pointer that brought the Greyhounds to within 69-66 with 26 seconds left to play.
Albright salted the game away as Lofton and Harris each made a pair of free throws in the final 24 seconds.
Albright will return to action on Sunday (Dec. 20) at Cabrini in its final game of 2015. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.