ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- Eastern University Women's Basketball stretched its winning streak to four games with a thrilling 83-81 home win over Moravian College. Bekah Roland paced five Eagles in double-figures with a game-high 21 points.

The Greyhounds took advantage of their hot shooting and early Eastern foul trouble to jump out to a 15-6 lead in the first five minutes. The Eagles pieced together a brief rally and kept the game close without top scorers Meghan Nowak or Shante Jones in the game. Roland, Katie Lincoln, and Kaitlyn Dougherty each played a significant part in pulling the Eagles back within one midway through the period. 

Behind eleven points from Katie O'Rourke and ten from Alexandra Blair, Moravian (8-6) led 44-39 at the intermission, but the Eastern staff had reason for optimism as Jones was held without a bucket and Nowak had only four points in less than five minutes of action.

"I was proud of Bekah," Head Coach Nate Davis noted. "Offensively she stepped up when we needed her to get some scoring, with Meghan out of the game. That's her experience as a senior and her growth as a person and a player to step up to the occasion and seize the opportunity that was there for her."

Roland had twelve at the break, and Katie Lincoln had eleven points and five rebounds.

Nowak and Jones made up for lost time as the duo combined to score 13 points in the first minutes of the second half to help the Eagles grab a 52-50 edge. 

The two teams would trade baskets and leads for the next 11 minutes until Nowak swished three straight free throws with four minutes to play to spark an 8-0 run for the home team. Roland capped the run with a three from the top of the key on a nice kick-out pass from Jones. 

The Eagles held the lead the rest of the way, but it was not without drama as Moravian's Danielle Brogan drained a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes to turn the game into a single possession affair on each occasion. Brogan's second triple came after Kaleigh Boreman drilled her third 3-pointer of the half to put the Eagles up 82-78 with 34 ticks left on the clock. Nowak set up the hoop with a heroic effort on the offensive glass after Jones missed a twisting lay-up with the shot clock winding down. Boreman scored ten of her 14 points after the break and finished the game 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

"She's fearless," Davis said of Boreman. "She doesn't fear any situation, so you can expect that (clutch shooting) from her."

Boreman split a pair of free throws after the second Brogan-three to set up a dramatic final possession for the visitors. Down two, the Greyhounds pushed the ball up the sideline, but Roland deflected the pass out of bounds to give the visitors a sideline in-bounds opportunity with under five seconds left. They went inside for a contested look and secured an offensive rebound with a second on the clock, but Nowak blocked the final shot of the game to secure the 10th win of the year for the Eagles.   

Nowak finished with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Jones had eleven points and six assists. Lincoln finished with eleven. Alexandra Blair paced the Greyhounds with 20, and Brogan finished with 16. 

While the Eastern staff was pleased to pick up the win over a quality opponent, there will be little time to rest as the Eagles return to Freedom Conference play on Wednesday. They will host 2011 Conference Player of the Year Christine Marks and Misericordia in the first game of a doubleheader with the men.

That game is the final game of Eastern's Season of Impact Coat Drive. Anyone bringing a new or gently-used coat for donation to City Team Ministries will be admitted to the game free of charge.