READING, Pa. – Freshman
Devan Horka posted a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Albright defeated Moravian in overtime 75-71 on Sunday in the Bollman Center.
The victory, which improved Albright's overall record to 6-2, was the 136
th in the career of Lion head coach
Janice Luck which tied her for the most wins in school history. Sally Miller also won 136 games coaching Albright in two tenures from 1977-83 and 1984-94.
Albright halted a nine-game losing streak to Moravian and recorded its first victory over the Greyhounds since a 61-60 win on Jan. 30, 2007.
Horka finished the game 8-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line in notching her first career double-double. She also fell one point shy of tying her career high of 19 points, which she scored against Lehman.
Emily O'Donnell added 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while
Jessica Venturelli had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Freshman
Jane Joyce also reached double figures with 10 points.
"We played like a very young team today," said Luck. "We were fortunate to get the victory, but I'm very proud of the girls for regaining their composure and playing well in overtime."
Moravian, which dropped to 5-5 on the season, was led by Alexis Wright who had 23 points and 16 rebounds. Alesha Marcks scored 12 points and Morgan Calabrese added 10 points and three steals.
Albright, which notched its fourth consecutive victory, let a big second-half lead slip away but used a run in overtime to earn the victory.
Back-to-back baskets by Venturelli and Joyce gave the Lions a 43-31 lead with 18:30 to play in the game, which marked Albright's largest lead of the contest.
A 9-2 run by Moravian trimmed the Lions lead to 45-40 with 13:25 to play, but Albright responded with a jumper from
Kelecia Harris, a layup from O'Donnell and a three-pointer from
Shannon Thomas to push the lead to 52-40 with 10:28 remaining in the second half.
The Lions maintained a double-digit lead until late in the second half.
Trailing 60-49 with 4:43 to play, Moravian used a 7-0 run to climb to within 60-56 with 3:30 remaining in the game.
Joyce connected on a jumper to end the run and extend the Albright lead to 62-56 with 3:08 to play.
Wright scored inside at the 1:21 mark of the second half to cut the lead to 62-60 and the Greyhounds forced a missed shot on Albright's next trip down the floor.
Following a timeout, Moravian's Taylor Freeman attempted a jumper which was rebounded by Marcks whose layup attempt was off the mark but the Greyhounds retained possession when the ball went out of bounds.
Freeman then connected on a jumper just before the horn sounded to tie the game at 62-62 and send the game into overtime.
Horka gave Albright a 64-62 lead with a jumper at the 4:36 mark of the extra period, but Wright connected on a jumper to tie the game for the fifth time at 64-64.
The Lions then ripped off a 10-0 run, sparked by four points from O'Donnell, to take a 74-64 lead with 42 seconds left in overtime.
Moravian could get no closer than the final score for the remainder of the contest.
Albright, which led the game for 37:20, controlled the boards as it outrebounded Moravian 58-39 and also held a 32-20 advantage in points off the bench.
Albright returns to action on Thursday (Dec. 18) when it faces Elizabethtown at 6 p.m. in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Lions will then face Lynchburg on Friday (Dec. 19) at 4 p.m. in the final game of the two-day tournament.