Muhlenberg women take opener 57-53
Moravian men collect 79-75 win over Mules in second contest.
Tara Szawaluk hadn’t started a basketball game since her junior season at Glen Rock (N.J.) High School.
Muhlenberg coach Ron Rohn may not want to remove her from his first five after Saturday.
Szawaluk scored 11 straight fourth-quarter points for the Mules, including a go-ahead layup with 13 seconds to play. The freshman guard finished with a career-high 23 points in her first collegiate start to lift Muhlenberg to a 57-53 win over Lehigh Valley rival Moravian in a women’s basketball game Saturday afternoon at Memorial Hall.
Experience allowed the Moravian men to make it a split between the two schools. The Greyhounds closed the doubleheader on a 21-8 run to collect a 79-75 win over Muhlenberg, stretching their winning streak to seven games.
The Muhlenberg women (9-0 overall) took their home floor leading Division III in scoring defense at 40.1 points per game. While the Mules defended well again — they held Moravian (7-3) to 35 percent shooting — Szawaluk’s offensive efficiency provided the difference.
Szawaluk connected on 9 of 11 shots from the field and all three of her foul shots to score her 23 points. Her runner with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Mules their first lead. Her layup with 13 seconds to play put them ahead to stay.
A foot injury suffered by junior point guard Ashley Polera gave Szawaluk the chance to start. Polera could return as soon as Tuesday, but Szawaluk made her play for more minutes Saturday.
Szawaluk missed her entire senior season at Glen Rock after tearing an ACL. She has rounded into shape since arriving at Muhlenberg.
“She’s an outstanding player,” Rohn said. “She comes from a high school program where she had to do everything. And then you come in as a freshman, you’re playing 2 minutes here, 3 minutes there, and it’s tough to get into a flow. You’re not used to it.
“She does this in practice every day. Today was one of those days where as a freshman, you’re not looking over your shoulder to see if you’re going to be pulled out because you know you’re not. She did well.”
Experience wins out
In the men’s game, Moravian rode its senior stars to victory. Oneil Holder and Jimmy Murray combined for 14 points over the final 6 1⁄2 minutes to help the Greyhounds (7-2) wipe out a nine-point deficit.
Holder finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal. Murray added 23 points and two assists.
Neither player turned the ball over as Moravian continued its excellent play. The Greyhounds have won seven straight games since dropping their first two.
“Our guys did a good job of just staying with it,” Moravian coach Justin Potts said. “When they put their run on us, we tweaked some things in the pressure, which gave us a little bit of help getting turnovers. Then, we did a better job of executing the last 5-6 minutes of the game.”
Big numbers in defeat
Moravian junior Nadine Ewald, a Parkland High graduate, continued her strong junior season. She scored 13 points, snagged a game-high 12 rebounds and handed out a career-high seven assists while playing 37 minutes.
Muhlenberg junior Matt Gnias produced the biggest scoring game of the day, pouring in 28 points.
Looking ahead
The Muhlenberg women and men play their final 2018 games Tuesday with another Lehigh Valley doubleheader. The Mules will host DeSales at Memorial Hall, with the women playing at 6 p.m. and the men at 8 p.m.
The Moravian women won’t play again until after Christmas. They host the Greyhound Classic on Dec. 30-31, playing Delaware Valley to start the event.
The Moravian men play their final game before the holidays Wednesday when they visit Yeshiva (N.Y.) University.
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