BETHLEHEM, PA - While Susquehanna women's basketball enjoyed a late third quarter run to open its lead to 59-50 going into the final period, they needed all the defense they could muster to ward off a hungry Moravian squad Saturday in the Greyhounds' gym. SU lost a last-minute heartbreaker at Moravian last year and were not about to let it happen again. Things got interesting late as MU's 18 fourth-quarter points doubled the River Hawks' fourth-quarter scoring total to that point that tied things up at 68-68. Susquehanna held the ball for as late as it could on its final possession of the afternoon with roughly a two-second difference between the game and shot clock. As Sydney Weyant pulled up for a three, she was fouled by Sam Osorio to send her to the line for three chances with 2.4 left on the clock. She made her final two for her only two points of the game, sending the Greyhounds to a full timeout and advancement. SU's defense shut down any inbounds play Moravian hoped to run, as a desperation shot fell short of the mark to give Susquehanna its first win over Moravian in Bethlehem since 2015.

The River Hawks held a 31-29 halftime lead, then looked to break the game open with 28 third-quarter points. Tied at 48-48 with two minutes left in the third, Susquehanna went on an 11-2 run to close out the quarter, backed by a trio of threes from Lauren Klein, Annie Greek, and Kenzie Selvaggi, with a Zoie Maffei layup accounting for the remaining field goal, to lead 59-50 after three. Seven of the River Hawks' 11 fourth-quarter points came on free throws, though three trips to the line to shoot two resulted in just one made attempt. Moravian erased a 68-61 deficit with a 7-0 run, bookended by points from Lizzie Lustig, who had a game-high 20 points. She made the game-tying free throw on the front end of a bonus trip to the charity strip with under one minute remaining, though could not connect for the second, leading to the River Hawks' heroic last possession and Weyant's game-winning touches. 

Greek had a spectacular day shooting the ball, making 5-of-7 3-point attempts with one free throw for 16 points, tying for the team-high in points with Carly George, who buried 8-of-13 field goals down low and gathering eight rebounds. Greek's shooting led Susquehanna's 9-of-18 day from long range, as Kenzie Selvaggi connected on 2-of-4 long-range shots to finish with ten points. Maffei registered 11 points with four rebounds and five assists, while Julia Pinckert tied with George for the team high with eight rebounds to go with seven points and one made 3-pointer. Klein added eight points with three rebounds. 

Overall Susquehanna shot 41.9 percent for the game (26-of-62), including a 61.1 third-quarter shooting percentage (11-of-18) to contribute to its hefty scoring that session. They made 9-of-13 free throws, including 5-of-5 going into the fourth. Moravian, meanwhile, shot 39.0 percent for the game (23-of-59), making 4-of-8 3-point attempts and 18-of-31 free throws. While the Greyhounds' shooting percentage may not have been pretty, their ability to outrebound the River Hawks kept them in the game with a 49-27 disparity, including 15 offensive boards that led to 18 second-chance points. 

The River Hawks return to Selinsgrove with a pivotal 2-0 Landmark Conference, along with a 4-1 overall record entering Thanksgiving Break. With this billing they embark on a three-game home stand consisting of conference games against Catholic Wednesday, Dec. 4 and Elizabethtown Saturday, Dec. 7. Following finals week they are back home hosting Misericordia in non-conference play Tuesday, Dec. 17 in their last contest of 2024 on the east coast prior to traveling to Las Vegas Dec. 28-29 for the D3hoops.com Classic. There they'll face Colorado College Dec. 28 at 3 p.m. ET, followed by Wittenberg Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. ET.