ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Seniors guard Morgan Calabrese and forward Camille McPherson combined for 48 points to lead the Moravian College women's basketball team to its fifth straight victory with a 66-61 win at Elizabethtown College in Landmark Conference action Saturday afternoon.
The Greyhounds improve to 16-5 overall and remain in second place in the Landmark Conference with an 8-2 conference slate.
"It was another tough win on the road," noted Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "We made some big shots when needed but most of all made big stops on defense. Our two seniors, Camille and Morgan, really came up with big games which is what we want to happen down the stretch."
McPherson recorded her second straight and seventh double-double of the year with 25 points and 14 rebounds to go with a pair of assists, and McPherson recorded 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half. Calabrese tied her career-high with 23 points with 11 in the first half as Moravian jumped out to a 27-21 halftime lead, and Calabrese grabbed five boards.
Freshman guard Maddie Capuano was also in double figures with 12 points including four free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the win, and Capuano added five rebounds and two steals. Junior forward Trista Cunningham contributed four points and five boards while junior guard Taylor Freeman had two points. Freshmen guard Karlie Brogan and Nadine Ewald were both kept off the scoreboard but Brogan added nine rebounds and Ewald had six board to help the Blue and Grey post a 45-36 edge on the glass, and Brogan also blocked two shots.
Capuano scored on Moravian's first possession of the game before Elizabethtown moved ahead with the Blue Jays taking an 8-4 lead just 2:48 into action. McPherson knotted the score at 8-8 with a pair of free throws, and Calabrese hit a jumper to put the Hounds back in front, 10-8, with 3:47 left in the first period. Cunningham gave Moravian a 12-10 edge with 2:31 left in the quarter but the Greyhounds would not score again as the squads finished the first quarter tied at 12-12.
Calabrese hit the first basket of the second quarter, and she connected on another jumper at the 7:02 mark as Moravian took the lead for the rest of the half at 16-14. Freeman hit a jumper to extend the lead to six, and Cunningham finished the half with a lay-up as Moravian led 27-21 after 20 minutes of action. The Hounds defense limited the Blue Jays to just 6-of-32 shooting (18.8 percent) from the field in the first half.
The squads traded baskets to start the second half, and Calabrese would give Moravian its largest lead of the game at eight points, 31-23, 54 seconds into the third quarter. The Blue Jays answered with a 10-2 run to tie the contest at 33-33 before a three-pointer by McPherson put the Hounds back in front. The Blue and Grey would get the lead back to eight points on a McPherson lay-up with 39 seconds left in the period, and Moravian had a 45-39 advantage after 30 minutes of action.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds led by seven points, 47-40, after a lay-up by McPherson but a 9-2 run by Elizabethtown tied the game at 49-49 with 7:57 to play. The tie was the eighth of the game and the first of three in the final quarter but the Blue Jays were never able to retake the lead from the Hounds. Capuano broke the final tie with a three-pointer to give the Greyhounds a 56-53 edge with 5:41 remaining. Moravian's advantage fluctuated between one and three points as the teams traded baskets and free throws over the remaining time. With the Hounds clinging to a one-point lead in the final 19 seconds, Capuano stepped to the foul line and drained all four free throws to seal the win as Moravian was 11-of-14 at the charity stripe in the victory.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, February 8 in a Landmark Conference game versus Goucher College with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.