Wright Breaks Career Rebounding Record as Hounds Rally for 81-74 Win at DeSales
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. --- Graduate student forward Alexis Wright picked up her fourth double-double of the season and the 46th of her career with 12 points and 18 rebounds that gave her a school record 1,016 career rebounds and led the Moravian College women’s basketball team to an 81-74 come-from-behind victory at DeSales University Tuesday evening as the Greyhounds captured their fifth straight win.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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13 | 14 | 32 | 22 | 81 |
|
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14 | 26 | 18 | 16 | 74 |
Team Stats
DeSales University
| Game Statistics | Moravian University | DeSales University |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-58) | (29-79) |
| Field Goal % | 43.1% | 36.7% |
| Rebounds | 48 | 39 |
| Assists | 15 | 24 |
| Turnovers | 21 | 16 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 17 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 10 |
| Pts in the Paint | 20 | 40 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 28 | 35 |
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. --- Graduate student forward Alexis Wright picked up her fourth double-double of the season and the 46th of her career with 12 points and 18 rebounds that gave her a school record 1,016 career rebounds and led the Moravian College women's basketball team to an 81-74 come-from-behind victory at DeSales University Tuesday evening as the Greyhounds captured their fifth straight win.
"I think it caught up to us a little in the first half that this was our sixth game in 11 days, and even though we've been playing well and playing lots of people, you're still tired a little bit," commented Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "DeSales did a great job of forcing us to turn the ball over and get us a little out of sync in the first half. I was disappointed that we gave up 40 points in the first half, and that is what I said at halftime. I though we came out in the second half with some energy and that led to getting contributions from a bunch of different people."
Wright entered the game needing two rebounds to become the second player in Moravian history to reach 1,000 career rebounds which she did with 5:26 left in the first period. Wright needed a total of 17 rebounds before the game to break Kathy Beck DeKorte's '92 career mark of 1,014, and Wright grabbed the record breaking rebound with 1:34 left in the contest.
"It means a lot to me to break the rebounding record," Wright explained after the contest. "I knew I had a few rebounds to get there so I just tried to focus on the game. I was surprised when coach Spirk told me after the game that I had 18 rebounds tonight."
Wright, who was playing in her 99th career game, is also seventh in school history with 1,421 points and second in blocked shots with 224 after five blocks against the Bulldogs.
"It gives me chills," Spirk said when asked about coaching both of Moravian's 1,000 rebound players. "Alexis is just unbelievable. I'm lucky, that's what I think, to have first coached someone like Kathy and now Alexis who is one of the nicest kids you're going to coach. She's steady and doesn't get flustered and hopefully she can keep it going."
Wright was one of four Greyhounds to score in double figures as Moravian rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit with 54 points in the final 20 minutes of action including a 19-for-19 performance at the foul line after the intermission. Junior forward Camille McPherson led the Blue and Grey with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds while junior guard Morgan Calabrese netted 12 points with three boards, three assists and a pair of steals. Senior guard Karine Polgar added 10 points.
Seniors guard Samantha Caligiuri and forward Alesha Marcks each netted eight points with Marcks grabbing seven boards. Freshman guard Maggie Melhem contributed six points and five rebounds while senior guard Emily MacDonnell added five points.
The Greyhounds jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on baskets by Wright and Melhem, and Moravian built an 8-2 lead at the 5:16 mark on a lay-up by Caligiuri. Polgar had the Hounds ahead 9-5 with a pair of free throws before the Bulldogs scored eight of the last 10 points of the period to take a 14-13 lead.
DeSales started the second quarter with a 10-0 run before Wright scored at the 7:13 mark. The Bulldogs continued to extend their lead and headed to the locker room with a 40-27 advantage as Moravian shot just 30 percent (9-for-30) in the first 20 minutes of action while DeSales was 16-for-43 and 5-for-9 on three-pointers.
"We didn't have that much energy in the first half," noted Wright. "At halftime, coach said we are better than this. We came together as a team and started passing the ball around instead of just jacking up shots. We also have a deep bench this year and have a lot of people that can play. It means that if someone needs a quick break, we can keep the intensity on the floor and then everyone can get back in refreshed."
The Blue and Grey started the third quarter with an 8-0 run with Melhem hitting a lay-up and McPherson adding a three-pointer and a three-point play. After a basket by the Bulldogs, Moravian would cut the deficit to three points, 42-39, on a lay-up from Wright with 6:30 still remaining in the third period. Trailing by four points, Calabrese scored on three straight possessions for the Hounds to give Moravian a 49-47 lead with 3:41 in the third quarter. After leading by as many as four points, the Greyhounds had a 59-58 lead after 30 minutes of action.
DeSales scored the first two points of the fourth period but a jumper by Melhem gave Moravian the lead for good, 61-60, with 8:58 to play. Marcks pushed the lead to three points, 65-62, with a jumper at 7:39, and that would be the Greyhounds final field goal of the evening. The Hounds scored their final 16 points at the foul line as McPherson, Wright, Marcks, Caligiuri and Polgar combined to go 16-for-16 at the charity stripe in the final 6:08 of action.
"We said foul shooting is going to win games, and I was really pleased that it was a number of different people that stepped up and made free throws at the end of the game," stated Spirk. "We're going to be tough to defend if you don't know who to foul. It is a great win at DeSales after being down like we were at halftime."
The Blue and Grey also picked up their shooting touch from the field, making 16-of-28 field goal attempts (57.1 percent) in the final 20 minutes to finish at 43.1 percent for the game, the fifth straight contest the Greyhounds have shot better than 43 percent from the floor.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Monday, November 30 in a non-conference game at No. 12 Montclair State University tipping off at 7:00 p.m.
