Grantham, PA — Walking out of an unexpected practice Wednesday afternoon, Messiah head coach Mike Miller conceded that he was nervous.
The Falcons' contest against Lycoming College had been postponed to Thursday night due to inclement weather, and what Miller had just witnessed had his stomach in knots.
“We couldn't miss,” Miller said of his team's Wednesday session. “It was one of those nights where everything was clicking. I just hope we didn't waste it all for (Thursday).”
Not to fear, Coach Miller. Messiah used a smothering defense to record its 43rd straight regular-season conference win at home, surviving a somewhat off shooting night to post a 68-39 win over the visiting Warriors Thursday evening. Messiah — ranked 11th in both of this week's national polls — held Lycoming to just 13 first-half points while forcing 17 first-period turnovers, rolling to the team's 12th straight win while never trailing.
“We did have a really good night in practice Wednesday,” said senior forward Sal Shani. “All of our shots were going in, and it was just a fun practice. It was hard, but it was really, really fun.”
Following a Thursday performance that saw the Falcons shoot 41.8 percent for the night and just 36.8 percent in the first half, Shani was asked if Miller's premonition had validity.
She laughed.
“You never know,” she said, smiling. “I honestly don't think that was it. I think it just took us awhile to get warmed up.”
Messiah (17-2, 6-0) did get warmed up to the tune of a 34-14 lead at the break, holding Lycoming (11-5, 2-4) to just four first-half baskets from the floor. That — plus the aforementioned 17 forced turnovers — helped ease any shooting woes, as minimal as they might have been.
“Even though we weren't shooting well, we were proud of our effort at halftime,” Shani said. “We appreciate our offensive strengths, but we appreciate our defensive abilities, too. That's something the coaches really stress. We knew our offense would come around, it was just a matter of time.”
That time turned out to be immediate. Messiah made its first six shots from the field to start the second half, exploding to a 48-17 lead just five and a half minutes in. Seniors Ashley Brooks and Katie Kalb opened things with a jumper and layup, while Brooks buried a three ball on the team's next possession. Junior Julie Henninger then converted a pair of jump shots, only for senior Kristen Groff to follow with an acrobatic layup in traffic.
It was the kind of stretch that has defined Messiah for the majority of the team's last 12 games. It was also the kind of stretch that was hard to stop. The Falcons' lead grew to as many as 40 points (64-24) before things fizzled slightly, as Miller's team missed seven of its final 10 shots from the field.
Henninger led the way shooting the basketball, equaling her career high with 20 points on a 10 of 14 performance from the floor. Brooks finished with 14 points — her ninth straight game in double-figure scoring — while sophomore Angie Rapchinski added 11 points and six boards. Shani scored just four but pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while sophomore Michele Schleich dished out a career-high five assists for the second time in the last three games.
“I think we made a major step defensively tonight,” Shani said. “It is really hard to get (assistant) Coach (Larry) Sassaman satisfied with our defensive play. Last night was the first time that I think I've seen him really pleased. We did the things we worked on in practice, and it seemed like everyone was on the same page. We understand that defense wins championships. Coach (Miller) told us he was a little nervous beforehand, not for the game itself but whether or not we could improve. I thought we did tonight.”
The postponement has a double-sided effect, as Messiah must now turn around and hit the road for another league game less than 48 hours later. The Falcons will begin the second round of conference play at Arcadia University Saturday, with game time set for 1 p.m.
“I don't think anyone is thinking really hard about lack of prep time,” Shani said. “Road wins are hard to come by, no matter when or where you're playing. But we'll step up. We have to.”
