XML Box Score
Grantham, PA -
Gillian Glackin collected a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Falcons to a 60-51 win over Lycoming College.
Chelsea Danel (12 points) and
Taylor Miller (11 points) chipped in with double-digit point totals as Messiah took an early lead and stayed in front to the final buzzer.
"I thought we played a really solid game tonight," head coach
Mike Miller said. "We executed our game plan and handled the ball well. On a night where there were a few upsets in the Conference, this was a critical win for us."
The Warriors (6-5, 3-2) were the first to get on the board, completing a three-point play on their second possession, but it was Messiah's
Sienna Wisse who responded with a long three; jump-starting an offensive firestorm for the Falcons. They tried to work the ball inside but found most of their success from the outside. In the next eight minutes, the Falcons scored 10 points to Lycoming's one.
Moments later,
Hannah Nichols and
Gillian Glackin went to work, extending the Falcons' lead to 12 - their largest lead of the half - at 16-4 with 10:10 left in the half.
But the Warriors' were just hitting their stride.
In the next four minutes, Lycoming's Julia Antonelli single-handedly took control of the game to score nine of their 10 points and initiate a late surge. The Warriors pulled within four points with 3:35 to play, but foul trouble led to their demise. The Falcons made seven of 10 free throws through the last three minutes of the half to pull ahead 29-23 at the intermission.
In the second half, the Warriors seemed to score on every other possession while the Falcons scored on every third possession, giving Lycoming the opportunity to cut their deficit to only four points at both the 15:07 and 9:06 marks.
"We turned the ball over a few times and missed some key shots," Miller said, reflecting on their slow second half start. "Gillian [Glackin] and Kate[lyn] stepped up and hit a couple free throws, which was what we needed to get going."
At the 7:10 mark,
Taylor Miller found
Katelyn Vanderhoff under the basket to give the Falcons their first double-digit lead of the half. In the next possession, Vanderhoff came up with a critical steal and ended up getting fouled in the process. She extended the Falcons' lead to 50-38 after making both free throws.
Chelsea Danel followed suit just two possessions later. This time Vanderhoff found Danel for the layup, Miller came up with the steal, and Danel went to the line to shoot two. Shooting an impressive 100% (4-for-4) on the night from the charity stripe, Danel gave the Falcons their greatest lead - 16 points - with exactly five minutes to play.
In the final minutes the Falcons scored only four additional points, but more importantly held the Warriors to only nine; capturing the 60-51 Commonwealth Conference victory.
With the win, Messiah moves to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in the Commonwealth.
The Falcons will continue their home stand on Saturday when they host Alvernia University at 3:00 p.m.
