Center Valley, PA — Twenty-five second-half points from pre-season All-American LeighAnn Burke helped host DeSales University overcome a 10-point halftime deficit Saturday, as the Bulldogs handed Messiah a 70-64 defeat in Billera Hall.
It was the second consecutive loss for the Falcons, as top-ranked Kean University sneaked past Messiah by a 59-50 score Wednesday night.
While the stretch comprises the program's first losing streak since the 2003-2004 season, Messiah head coach Mike Miller said there is no reason for concern.
“We knew going into this week that it would be one of the toughest stretches we've ever put a team through in the history of our program,” Miller said. “DeSales is a team that very, very rarely loses at home. (When) you play good people, you put yourself out there. Two teams got us, but I think we can springboard off this.”
DeSales — ranked 16th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and 18th in the most recent D3hoops.com ballot — rattled off its 20th straight win at home with the decision, a streak that began following a 69-47 loss to the Falcons on Dec. 9, 2006 — Messiah's last trip to Billera Hall.
Things started off in a similarly positive way for Messiah (5-2) Saturday, as Miller's team forced 12 first-half DeSales turnovers en route to a 35-25 lead at the intermission. The Bulldogs' Burke was limited to just seven points on a three for 10 shooting performance, while seniors Sal Shani and Katie Kalb each converted four of nine shots from the floor to pace the offense with nine and 11 points, respectively.
When Kalb buried a runner in the lane at the hafltime buzzer, Messiah (ranked seventh and sixth in the aforementioned polls) had replicated its largest lead for the third time while keeping a crowd of 750 eerily quiet.
“We were wonderful in the first half,” Miller said. “It was probably one of our best first halves we've ever had in my time here. We just didn't match their sense of urgency in the first few minutes of the second half, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. We allowed (Burke) to get some good looks, something we didn't allow in the first half.”
Burke — a pre-season D3hoops.com First Team All-American — came out of the locker room looking the part, burying a jumper to start the second half before ripping a steal and going in for an uncontested layup just moments later.
Messiah would do its best to maintain its lead, as a traditional three-point play from senior Christa Wenrich made it a 42-33 spread with 16:53 to play. It was at that point that DeSales (7-1) would go on a super-quick 9-0 run, highlighted by a layup, three pointer and jumper from Burke — a surge that resulted in a 42-42 score with 15:03 remaining.
Miller's team pulled back ahead by four following a jumper from sophomore Michele Schleich and a layup from senior Kristen Groff that surrounded a defensive stop, but another run from DeSales — this one a 10-0 push — would again tilt things in the hosts' favor. Burke accounted for half of those points, helping the Bulldogs to a 52-46 lead with 10:05 to play. A three pointer from sophomore Angie Rapchinksi brought the Falcons within three on the visitor's next possession, but a layup from DeSales' Kim Rarick and a long ball from — who else — Burke made the score 57-49, DeSales, with exactly nine minutes to play.
The final six-point margin would be as close as Messiah would get from that point forward, as DeSales extended its lead to as many as 11 points in the final five minutes.
Burke led all scorers with 32 points on 11 of 22 shooting from the field, a clip that included a four of seven performance from deep. Shani (16 points, seven of 19 shooting) and Kalb (15 points, six of 16 shooting) paced Messiah. Shani grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
“Every one of us had breakdowns (during the second half),” Miller said. “We got a bit internally focused and started getting concerned with our mistakes. It was a hostile environment, but a very good experience for us. Generally speaking, I'm still positive. DeSales did some things we hadn't seen yet, so that will help us down the road.”
Messiah's back-to-back defeats were the first since a pair of losses closed the 2003-2004 season: The Falcons fell to Widener University by a 64-69 score on Feb. 25, 2004 and then lost in the NCAA Tournament to Wittenberg University by a 48-51 score Mar. 6, 2004.
Miller's team will not have to sit on Saturday's loss for long, however, as the team will cap off final examination week with a home contest against Juniata College Thursday. That game is slated to begin at 6 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium. That will serve as the final game of the calendar year for the club, as Messiah will take a two-week layoff over the holidays.
“We need to play at home,” Miller said. “We have a chance to get back to some success instead of having to sit on this one. We'll look forward to the opportunity and get back to work.”
