Moravian Falls to Rival Muhlenberg
November 15, 2011

Moravian Falls to Rival Muhlenberg

The Moravian College women's basketball team fell to rival Muhlenberg College 87-78 Tuesday evening at Johnston Hall in front of a packed house. Leading the way for Moravian was junior guard Amanda Kreuder who scored a career-high 19 points to go with four steals and two assists.

Box Score Preview

The Moravian College women's basketball team fell to rival Muhlenberg College 87-78 Tuesday evening at Johnston Hall in front of a packed house. Leading the way for Moravian was junior guard Amanda Kreuder who scored a career-high 19 points to go with four steals and two assists.

Kreuder would lead the Greyhounds in the first half with 11 points and four steals. Moravian would fall behind 4-1 early, but rally back off of a layup from senior forward Alexandra Blair then a jumper by sophomore guard Katie O'Rourke. The Mules would then go on a 13-5 run, and push their lead to 17-10 with 12 minutes to go in the first half.

Moravian would battle back in the next four minutes of play and come within one point of the Mules at 21-20. Senior guard Alexandra Chili for Muhlenberg would lead a 10-0 scoring rally for the Mules that pushed their lead to 30-20. Muhlenberg guard/forward Alita Zabrecky would get into the scoring mix as the Mules would reach their largest lead of the half at 15 points.

With the score at 42-27 and 3:32 left in the half, Moravian would start their rally with two good free throws from senior guard Hilary Murray then back-to-back baskets made by Kreuder. Then freshman forward Alexis Wright would draw the foul with 43 seconds left, and make both free throws to bring the Hounds within seven points. Kreuder would make one free throw shot as Moravian would take a 42-36 deficit into the half.

Chili led Muhlenberg in the first half with 16 points and four rebounds while Wright would rack up seven rebounds for the Greyhounds.

Kreuder net a basket at the start of the second half, giving her 13 points in the game and tying her career-high while bringing the Greyhounds within four points of Muhlenberg. The Mules would then add a layup from sophomore forward Leeann Lanza, then a jumper from Chili to push their lead to 13 points at 51-38 with 17:30 to go in the second half. Moravian would trade shots for the next three minutes until the Mules would extend their lead to a high of 18 points with ten minutes left. The Greyhounds wouldn't let Muhlenberg win without a fight as they would start their comeback with just under six minutes to go in the game.

Wright would start the rally with a layup off a pass from Blair. Then Blair and Kreuder would comeback with two free throws each to cut the lead to 12 points. A layup and jumper from Kreuder would bring the Greyhounds to 75-67 with 3:36 to go. Blair would score the next four points for Moravian to bring them with seven points of the Mules, but after that lead seemed too much to overcome as Moravian would end up dropping their season opener.

Blair tallied 15 points and seven rebounds while Wright recorded a double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds for the Greyhounds. Murray added ten points while sophomore guard Danielle Brogan contributed a career-high 15 points and seven rebounds. O'Rourke would add eight rebounds, seven assists, five points and three steals. Sophomore forward/center Laura Jordan scored two points while bringing down six rebounds.

Muhlenberg's leading score was Zabrecky with 25 points, and Chili wasn't far behind with 24 points. Zabrecky also had 11 rebounds along with Lanza.

The Greyhounds travel to Boston for the Emmanuel College Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, November 19-20. Moravian takes on William Paterson University Saturday 12:30 p.m. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the Emmanuel College/Heidelberg University in the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. The remaining teams will play in a consolation game at 1 p.m.