The Bulldogs (2-1 overall) never led in the game falling behind early before tying it mid-way thru the first half and getting within one point once and two points several times late in the second half, but were never able to take lead as the Greyhounds (2-1 overall) held on for the non-conference win.
Moravian jumped out early taking an eight point lead, 14-6, with 14:09 to play before DSU went on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 16 with 11:43 left in the opening half. A pair of freshmen Kaila Wiand with five points and Caitlin Miller three points sparked the game-tying run.
The game went back and forth the rest of the half with the game being tied twice more before Moravian settled for a three-point cushion, 39-36, entering the locker rooms. Both teams were hurt with turnovers as each committed 15 in the first half, while MC held a 20-12 edge on the boards helping it to the three-point difference.
In the second half, the Greyhounds again jumped out early opening up a nine-point lead several times with the last coming at 59-50 on a three-pointer from Amanda Brown. DSU answered the trey with a 10-2 run capped by a three-pointer from sophomore LeighAnn Burke cutting the lead to one point at 61-60 with 7:06 to go.
The game went back and forth over the next four minutes with Moravian leading 71-69 with 3:06 to play. Senior Kelly Applegate canned two free throws to make it 73-69 and after a three-point miss on the other end La’Toya Blake found daylight on the right side and dribbled past three DSU defenders for a lay-up to make it 75-69 with 1:58 left.
Another missed jumper by DSU was followed by a Moravian turnover and Miller converted 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead to five, but Kirsty Stearns hit a jumper on the other end making it 77-70 with 45 seconds left and DSU failed to convert on the other end as Moravian took home the win.
Senior Kirby Lutz led the Bulldogs with a game-high 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Miller added 12 off the bench and Wiand finished with 10 tallies, all in the first half. Miller also grabbed a team-high eight boards. Burke had 10 points and sophomore Kim Rarick and junior Amanda Kuperavage each had eight points in the loss.
Applegate once again torched the Bulldogs for 26 points and 14 rebounds. She hit 12-of-15 from the free throw line and was 7-of-11 from the field. Freshman Jessica Foran scored 14 points, while Brown and Katie Rizman each had 10 points off the bench.
DSU returns to action on Monday, November 27th when they host its other local rival, Muhlenberg College, in another non-conference game beginning at 6:00 pm.
MORAVIAN COLLEGE 79, DESALES UNIVERSITY 70 DESALES UNIVERSITY (2-1 overall) Kirby Lutz 4-8 6-11 16; Caitlin Miller 3-8 4-6 12; Kaila Wiand 2-3 5-6 10; LeighAnn Burke 3-10 2-4 10; Kim Rarick 3-7 1-3 8; Amanda Kuperavage 4-7 0-0 8; Erica Sovak 1-4 3-4 6; Kelly Magrann 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 21-34 70. MORAVIAN COLLEGE (2-1 overall) Kelly Applegate 7-11 12-15 26; Jessica Foran 5-13 4-4 14; Katie Rizman 4-6 1-1 10; Amanda Brown 3-6 2-2 10; Kirsty Stearns 4-9 0-0 8; La'Toya Blake 2-4 1-2 5; Cody Fedorishen 1-1 0-0 2; Kate Harrison 1-6 0-0 2; Alyssa Bisci 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-58 20-24 79. DeSales University............ 36 34 - 70 Moravian College.............. 39 40 - 79 3-point goals-DeSales 9-22 (LeighAnn Burke 2-7; Kirby Lutz 2-2; Caitlin Miller 2-5; Kaila Wiand 1-1; Kim Rarick 1-1; Erica Sovak 1-4; Kelly Magrann 0-2), Moravian 3-7 (Amanda Brown 2-4; Katie Rizman 1-1; Alyssa Bisci 0-1; Jessica Foran 0-1). Rebounds-DeSales 26 (Caitlin Miller 8), Moravian 40 (Kelly Applegate 14). Assists-DeSales 14 (Kim Rarick 4; Kirby Lutz 4), Moravian 20 (Amanda Brown 5).