Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Trailing by just two points with 13
seconds remaining, the Susquehanna women's basketball team
had a shot to steal a road win from Moravian but clutch free throws
by the Greyhounds in the final 11 seconds held off the Crusaders in
a 73-69 decision Friday night.
Four of SU's five starters reached double figures, led by
Gina Palazzi's (Newfoundland,
Pa./Wallenpaupack) 16. Palazzi also added a game-high 14
boards for her sixth double-double of the season. Senior
Rachael Hughes (Gordon, Pa./ North Schuylkill) was
close behind with 14 points while classmates Erika Barron
(Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area) and Samantha
Cartwright (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) chipped in 13 and 12
points, respectively.
The Crusaders (7-8, 2-2) struggled to find their offensive
rhythm all night, shooting just 36 percent from the field and just
over 56 percent from the charity stripe.
Moravian (8-6, 3-1), meanwhile, did not shoot any better from
the floor, sinking only 35.5 percent of its shots, but the
Greyhounds converted on more than 83 percent of their free throws,
a key factor in their win.
More than four minutes elapsed before either team got on the
board. With 15:55 on the clock, Barron's layup sparked a 5-0
SU run.
Three minutes later, it remained 5-0 until Moravian put together
a run of its own. An 11-2 stretch that ran the clock down to 4:27
put the Greyhounds up 18-9. However, in a game full of runs, the
Crusaders held Moravian to just two points over the final four-plus
minutes of the half was scoring 11 of its down to knot the game at
20-all at the midway point of the action.
The Greyhounds outscored SU 7-2 in the first three minutes of
the second half before Susquehanna again mounted a comeback
complements of 12 unanswered points that made it 42-33 in favor of
the Crusaders with just over 12 minutes remaining.
The theme of runs continued, this time in Moravian's
favor. SU remained up by nine, 47-38, with 10:48 on the clock
before the Greyhounds' Amy Heffner made it 52-all on a layup
with 8:09 to play. Two Amanda Kreuder free throws 40 seconds later
put Moravian up 54-52. Heffner finished with a game-high 23 points
and Kreuder added 13.
Susquehanna was unfortunately unable to regain the lead. The
Crusaders did cut the lead to just one (62-61) following a Barron
trey with 4:09 remaining but that was the closest SU came over the
final minutes as four Moravian free throws in the final 22 seconds
put the game away.
Next game: Saturday, Jan. 15 at Scranton – 4
p.m.
