WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's basketball team rode a strong second half to a massive 66-60 Landmark Conference victory over the Moravian University Greyhounds at the Marts Center on Wednesday night.

The Colonels improve to 7-9 on the year and 3-6 in Landmark play, while Moravian fall to 5-11 with a 4-5 conference record.

Both teams battled close in the first quarter, deadlocked at 7 halfway through the period. Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) brought the offensive spark for the Colonels, scoring six of those points. Moravian then outscored the Colonels 10-6 to take a 17-13 lead into the first quarter break.

The Greyhounds started the second quarter with a strong 8-3 run to extend their lead to 25-16, but the Colonels fought back to make it a single possession game with a 7-0 run to make it a 25-23 contest. Wilkes almost took the lead with 10 seconds left in the half, as two free throws from Julia Marino (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) put the Colonels behind 31-30, but Moravian maintained their lead and took a 33-30 advantage into halftime.

Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) opened the second half with a three-point bucket to tie the game up right out of the gate, and the teams battled close through throughout the quarter. The game was tied at six different points throughout the third quarter, and Matos gave the Colonels the lead with her third triple of the frame to take a 48-47 lead into the final quarter.

The game remained a one-possession contest for the majority of the fourth quarter. With just under five minutes remaining, Babcock tied the game at 52 with a free throw, before a Moravian free throw put the Greyhounds on top 53-52. Matos brought the lead back to the Colonels with a fast break layup, starting a  14-7 run that gave the Colonels the 66-60 victory as they dominated the free throw line late.

Matos led the Colonels with 18 points and went 3-6 from beyond the arc. Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) and Babcock also reached double-digit scoring, putting up 13 and 12 points respectively. Shober, Babcock, and Nadia Evanosky (Dallas, PA/Dallas) shared the rebound crown each grabbing seven boards, while Babcock led in assists with three.

Grace Steffen led the Greyhounds scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds for a double-double, while Jayda Cartagena led the team with four assists.

The Colonels begin the second half of their Landmark Conference schedule this Saturday as they welcome No. 9 ranked Catholic University to the Marts Center for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.