March 2, 2021
Late FTs by Buskirk Lifts Fourth Seeded Greyhounds Past Fifth Seed Juniata in Landmark Conference Play-In Game
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Junior guard Alix Buskirk made four free throws in the final 17 seconds to snap a 69-69 tie and give the fourth seeded Moravian College women’s basketball team a 73-69 victory over fifth seed Juniata College in the Landmark Conference Tournament Play-In game in Johnston Hall as Buskirk netted a career-high 12 points.
Juniata College
0-9
69
Moravian University
6-4
73
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
20 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 69 |
|
|
19 | 10 | 29 | 15 | 73 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Juniata College
Pts:
Gracie Stauffer
- 25
Reb:
Gracie Stauffer
- 20
Ast:
Cassie Mock
- 5
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Juniata College | Moravian University |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (26-62) | (27-64) |
| Field Goal % | 41.9% | 42.2% |
| Rebounds | 43 | 31 |
| Assists | 18 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 21 | 7 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 4 | 33 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 17 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 28 | 38 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 10 |
| Bench Pts | 10 | 14 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Junior guard Alix Buskirk made four free throws in the final 17 seconds to snap a 69-69 tie and give the fourth seeded Moravian College women's basketball team a 73-69 victory over fifth seed Juniata College in the Landmark Conference Tournament Play-In game in Johnston Hall as Buskirk netted a career-high 12 points.
With the victory, the Greyhounds head to top seed The University of Scranton for a Landmark Conference Semifinal game on Thursday, March 4.
Quotable
- Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk – "We talked at halftime that we were playing flat. We wanted to run the ball and get some easy buckets. Juniata played exactly how they wanted to play us, slow the ball game down and get into sets. They run their sets really well, especially with a 6-4 center, and then they made a couple of three-pointers. We just weren't running the offense well. Our whole goal for the second half was to increase the tempo. I give our players credit, they hung in there and made some clutch plays down the stretch."
- Spirk on Buskirk's performance – "I'm happy for Alex. She's been kind of a role player the last two years, and she's stepped into a part-time starter. She hit her foul shots when she got the opportunity. I was surprised they fouled Alex, but you've got to step up to win a game, and hopefully eventually a championship."
- Spirk on freshman forward Rachel Sutton performance off the bench – "It is why it is called a team sport; you've got to have different players step up. It is really nice to see our freshman get better in this shortened season. Rachel embraced the opportunity tonight and I though she played pretty good defensively too. She tipped some passes and grabbed some rebounds. It's not always easy to make lay-ups when you're wide open, and Rachel did a nice job. That little jumper she hit in front of the bench in the fourth quarter, I told her that it better have gone in if she shot it."
- Spirk on winning at home for the first time in Landmark Tournament since 2010 – "I didn't realize it had been that long since we had won a conference tournament game at home. It certainly feels good, and you want to win at home even though we didn't have the fans, you just feel more comfortable. For this team to do that, if you're going to tell me that of all the teams that I've coached since 2010 and this is the team to accomplish that, it is pretty good for them, and it is just going to help us moving forward over the next couple of years."
How It Happened
- The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead while a fast break lay-up from Buskirk had Moravian on the board. Juniata pushed its edge to 9-4 before another fast break lay-up by Buskirk and a jumper by junior guard Kayla Yoegel had the Hounds down just one at 9-8 with 5:28 left in the first quarter. The Eagles made it a six-point lead at 14-8, and Juniata led 17-12 before a 7-0 run from the Greyhounds put the Blue and Grey up 19-17 as sophomore guard Madison Amy hit two free throws with 12 seconds left in the period. However, the Eagle hit a late three to lead 20-19 after 10 minutes of action
- Freshman forward Sam Osorio opened the scoring in the second quarter as Moravian moved ahead 21-20, and Yoegel followed with a jumper to make it a 23-20 edge. Buskirk hit her first two free throws to give the Greyhounds a 25-24 edge with 7:48 left in the first half before Juniata scored seven straight points to move back in front. The Eagles stretched the advantage to eight points before Sutton hit a lay-up just before the break to make Juniata's lead 35-29 after 20 minutes of play
- Yoegel opened the scoring to being the second half before a three-pointer from the Eagles gave Juniata its largest lead of the contest at 38-31 with 8:29 on the clock in the third quarter. The Hounds went on a 13-4 run to retake the lead at 44-42 on a lay-up by sophomore guard Jackie Kelly with 4:54 left in the quarter. Juniata knotted the game again 30 seconds later before a three-point play by Yoegel at the 1:25 mark had the Blue and Grey up 54-46. Madison Amy would beat the clock at the end of the quarter to give the Greyhounds a 58-51 advantage after three quarters
- Juniata slowly closed the gap early in the fourth period, getting within a point at 60-59 before jumpers from Buskirk and Sutton pushed Moravian back ahead 64-59 with 4:39 to play. The Eagles tied the game for a sixth time at 67-67 with a three-point play, and they knotted the score again at 69-69 with 1:14 remaining. Buskirk would go to the line with 16.9 seconds left and calmly hit two free throws for the 71-69 edge. At the other end of the court, Buskirk would grab a rebound after the Eagles missed a jumper, and she was headed back to the foul line with seven seconds left, where she sealed the win for Moravian with two more free throws
First for the Hounds
- Tuesday night's win was the first in Johnston Hall for the Greyhounds in the Landmark Conference Tournament since February 27, 2010 when the Hounds defeated Scranton, 66-49, to win Landmark Championship
- Sutton reached double figures for the first time in her career with 10 points, and she tied her career-high with three rebounds in 22 minutes of action
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian had four players in double figures, led by Yoegel, who tied her career high with 21 points. Buskirk and Madison Amy each had 12 points while Sutton netted 10 points. Sophomore guard Morgan Amy nearly made it five Hounds in double digits as she finishes with nine points
- Buskirk was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line and 3-for-3 in the field to net her 12 points, and she tied her career-high with four rebounds
- The Greyhounds scored a season-best 29 points during the third quarter to flip a six-point halftime deficit, 35-29, into a seven-point lead, 58-51, after 30 minutes of action
- The Blue and Grey forced Juniata into 21 turnovers and scored 33 points off of the miscues while the Hounds committed just seven turnovers and allowed Juniata to score just four points from the mistakes
- The Greyhounds shot over 70 percent at the foul line for the ninth time in 10 games this winter, going 17-for-21 (81.0 percent) at the charity stripe including 10-for-11 in the second half
- With the win, Moravian clinches its 32nd winning season in Spirk's 34 years as head coach. Spirk has a career mark of 616-300
- The Hounds are in the postseason for the 20th consecutive year and the 31st time under Spirk's direction
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Thursday, March 4 at No. 1 seed The University of Scranton in Landmark Conference Semifinals, TBA
