The win improves the Greyhounds, who were also playing their first game of 2007, to 6-4 overall. Wilkes, who will host Widener University on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., fell to 5-6 overall.
Moravian used a 15-2 spurt early in the opening stanza to take a double digit lead. Amanda Brown nailed a three-pointer to give the Greyhounds a 6-3 advantage. Kate Harrison added a field goal to make it 8-3. Wilkes put a temporary halt to the run when Karyn Perestam scored inside to cut the deficit to 8-5.
Harrison would score off an offensive rebound and Brown cashed in another three-pointer to help Moravian extend their lead to 13-5 with 15:44 left in the first half. Harrison would convert a free throw and a field goal, and Brown assisted on a lay-up by Kirsty Stearns as the Greyhounds pushed their lead to 18-5 with 14:43 showing on the clock.
Moravian’s lead would grow to 19 points, 40-21, on a pair of charity tosses by Kelly Applegate with 2:54 left in the period. But, Wilkes closed with an 8-2 surge to cut the halftime lead to 42-29.
Lacey Andresen opened the second half for the Lady Colonels with a field goal to make it 42-31. Kelly Patchell would pull Wilkes within single digits with 19:06 remaining when she converted inside to cut the lead to 42-33.
That is as close as Moravian would allow the Lady Colonels to get as they responded by going on a 13-1 run that opened up a 21-point gap. Amanda Brown started the spurt with a three-pointer that pushed the advantage to 45-33. Four points apiece by Stearns and Jenny Hackleman, and two free throws from Applegate, advanced the lead to 55-34 with 14:20 showing on the clock. Wilkes would not get any closer than 19 points the rest of the way.
Brown canned 5-of-7 three-pointers on her way to a game-high 17 points for Moravian. Applegate and Harrison contributed 11 points apiece for the Greyhounds.
Katie Cappelloni had 11 points and Randi Corbo cashed in 10 tallies to pace the Wilkes attack. The Lady Colonels also received a game-high 10 rebounds from Andresen.