Grantham, PA — As a scrappy, unrelenting Lebanon Valley College squad refused to be put away in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament Championship Saturday at Brubaker Auditorium, the Messiah College women's basketball team called on its senior leader.
Conference player of the year — and national player of the year candidate — Nikki Lobach responded, in the most absolute of ways.
Lobach carded a career-high 32 points to push Messiah to its fourth consecutive MAC Commonwealth title and seventh in the last nine years, holding on for a 54-47 win over a refuse-to-say-die group from LVC. The senior from Hanover, Pennsylvania scored 21 of her points in the second half and notched 15 of the Falcons' final 19 points of the game, earning tournament MVP honors as a result.
The win assures Messiah (25-2, 10-0) of an automatic berth in the NCAA National Tournament, while there is a strong probability that the team will host first-round competition next weekend.
As if that weren't enough, head coach Mike Miller collected his 400th career win in the process, becoming just the 27th NCAA Division III women's basketball coach to reach the plateau in the history of the sport.
As the nets came down in a celebratory scene following Saturday's game, Miller was quick to point out that — contrary to popular belief — it was not business as usual within the Messiah women's basketball program.
“Yes we've won four of these things in a row, but it never, ever gets old,” he said amidst a crowded Brubaker Auditorium floor. “Each team has earned their own right to cut the nets down. Each year is a different team with different players, different chemistry and different relationships. To try to group any of these (championships) together is really unfair to the kids.”
Lebanon Valley (22-5, 6-4) did its best to keep any of those comparisons from occurring, as the Flying Dutchmen put up a valiant effort in what may or may not have been their final game of the season. Despite committing 11 turnovers and making just one of its first 11 shots from the field in the game's first 12 and a half minutes, LVC used its collective quickness to make things interesting for the majority of the contest.
Messiah shot out to an early 17-2 lead thanks to Lebanon Valley's early struggles, but a bucket from Lori Lidlow, the Dutchmen's league co-rookie of the year, snapped the dry spell at the first half's 8:28 mark. Following a series of traded baskets, LVC went on a 12 to two run, turning a 19-6 Messiah lead at the 7:38 juncture into a 21-18 difference with just 2:16 to play in the first period.
A jumper from Lobach made the spread 23-18 with 2:03 to play, but a layup from Lidlow with 31 seconds on the clock pulled the visitors to just a 23-20 deficit at halftime.
“Lebanon Valley played absolutely great today,” Miller said. “They got down 17-2 but kept coming at us. A lot of our struggles today were a credit to Lebanon Valley and how they played us.”
Messiah opened the second half with another driving basket from Lobach but LVC responded with a three-ball from Suzie Noyes, and after four straight made free throws it was the Dutchmen that possessed a 29-27 lead with 15:38 remaining in the game.
The Falcons — sparred by a pull-up three pointer and a ridiculous, one-against-three layup from Lobach — would quickly come back to reassert a six-point lead just moments later, but LVC hung around: Using quick play and a relentless transition game, the Flying Dutchmen captured a 38-37 lead with just 6:46 to play.
The game was up for the taking.
Lobach made sure her team would grab it.
The Falcons' All-American buried a three on Messiah's next trip, recovering a 40-38 lead. She then would score her team's next eight points, keeping the Falcons in front by a slight margin.
A twisting layup from Lobach made the score 48-44, Messiah, with just 3:22 to play, while junior Silalei Shani came up with a steal on the team's next defensive possession. Senior Lauren Schurr then buried a clutch pull-up jumper with 2:40 left, giving the Falcons a 50-44 advantage.
Lobach followed with a pair of made free throws at the 1:24 mark, and Messiah possessed a 52-44 lead.
A deep three pointer from LVC's Andrea Hoover pulled the guests within a 52-47 spread with 1:13 to play, but senior Amy Reed came up big on Messiah's next possession, knocking in a jumpshot while fading to her right to provide the final margin. Neither team would score in the game's final 50 seconds, as LVC turned the ball over and came up short on a three in its final two possessions.
“I thought Lebanon Valley did a good job focusing on Shani after she had 21 points at their place (on Feb. 19),” Miller said. “As a result, we tried forcing the ball inside and committed some turnovers. That gave them some fast-break baskets and some confidence. From that point on, it was a true championship game. You just want to win by a point. You know it's not going to be a blow out. It comes down to players making some plays on both ends of the floor.”
Lobach finished making the majority of those plays, reaching the 30-point plateau for the first time as a collegian while scoring over half of her team's points for the first time as well. She finished 11 of 16 from the floor and nine of 10 from the free throw line, dishing out a pair of assists.
“Nikki was unbelievable today,” Miller said. “We haven't really called on any one player to carry us at any point this year, but today we needed her to step up and she did. She came up big at big moments. What's really impressive to me was that she was able to do so much on just 16 shots. Her efficiency was so high, I think that says the most about her as a player.”
While Reed's and Schurr's baskets were timely, they were the only Messiah points scored by a player other than Lobach in the game's final 13:48.
“That is kind of an anomaly, too,” Miller said when learning of the numbers. “If it takes that to win a league championship, I'll take that at this point. The kids don't care, either. They just want to win.”
Winning is something that has occurred with great frequency under Miller's tutelage at Messiah, as the program leader has eclipsed a 400-173 record in his 23 years at the helm, equating to a .698 winning percentage. His recent history is even more impressive, as Messiah has posted an overall record of 225-34 (.868) in the last nine years.
Miller was presented with a game ball at the conclusion of Saturday's game, honoring the newest member of the 400-win club within Division III women's basketball.
“I really didn't have any emotions (about winning 400) until after the game, when all of the parents and alumni started coming up to me and reminiscing,” Miller said. “I kind of got, I guess melancholy, because I really don't feel I'm worthy of it. All of the players I've gotten the privilege to coach, and my great assistant coaches that have been with me, they're really the reason for it. I've been very blessed. It's truly an honor. Now that something like this has happened, it's apparent that I didn't have much to do with it. It's not really about me, it's about our program.”
Messiah will try to add to Miller's total next weekend, as the team awaits word of its seeding, location and first round opponent in the NCAA National Tournament. Lebanon Valley waits to see if it will receive an at-large bid.
“It was a great championship game today, and LVC deserves a lot of credit,” Miller said. “We'll continue to prepare and work as we learn of our next game. I think our team is enjoying this part of the year and this new challenge.”
The announcement of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament will be made at 10 a.m. EST Monday, and will appear on
D3hoops.com. A link to that bracket will be made on this site when it becomes available.
