Glenside, PA — Memo to all alums who graduated as part of record-setting teams at Messiah College:
We apologize for your losses.
Signed,
The 2008-2009 Falcons
Yet another school record fell to the wayside Saturday afternoon, as Messiah handed host Arcadia University a 98-33 defeat — the largest margin of victory in the history of the program. The Falcons connected on nearly 60 percent of its shots while holding the Knights to just a 28.3 percent effort, rolling to their 13th straight win and 19th MAC Commonwealth Conference win overall.
The point-spread was only the latest record to be re-written to the archives this season, as Messiah's 79-23 win over Hood College on Jan. 8 set a benchmark for fewest points allowed while the team's 73.7 percent shooting clip against the University of Scranton on Dec. 2 was also a school record.
So much for winning without panache. Not that it's an objective.
“I can't say it enough, but we're just concentrating on the process of being focused each time out, and working to improve our game,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “We don't really look at the opponent, or even these numbers as they relate to history. All we're concerned with is trying to get better.”
By most accounts, it would certainly appear hard to improve on Saturday's performance, as Messiah — ranked 11th in the both the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and the D3hoops.com Top 25 ballot — claimed a 51-13 lead at the half, also a season-best margin. A jumper from senior Sal Shani and another from junior Julie Henninger was followed with back-to-back threes from senior Katie Kalb, and the Falcons had a 10-0 lead immediately out of the gate. Back-to-back treys from sophomore Angie Rapchinski turned a 20-6 lead into a 26-6 difference with 12:36 to play in the first period, while three straight baskets over the half's last 1:40 changed a 45-13 score into the halftime distance.
A scary moment occurred at the outset of the second half, as a steal from senior Ashley Brooks led to a fastbreak leak out for Kalb. As Kalb raced in for the layup, she was intentionally fouled from behind, going down hard to the floor. While eventually okay — she returned to play six more minutes later in the contest — Kalb's injury served as a moment of trepidation, as Rapchinski was inserted to shoot both free throws.
From that point on, however, there was little drama to be had. Consecutive layups from Brooks and Henninger pushed Messiah's lead to 66-18 with 15:27 to play, while a traditional three-point play from Henninger made it a 51-point lead with 11:35 remaining.
The Falcons would reach the 80-point mark with over eight minutes to go in the game, and even a complete calling-off of the dogs from Miller could not slow the team's impeding momentum. Messiah buried seven of its final 11 shots from the floor despite walking the ball up on each possession and — on several occasions — working the shot clock down to the buzzer.
“We probably only had five or six fastbreaks the entire game,” Miller said. “We just ran our stuff so well in the half court. One of the things we wanted to focus on was trying to think the game better. We wanted our players to think about what they would do with the ball before they got the ball. I thought we did a good job of thinking the game today.”
Shani led the way with a season-high 22 points on an 11 of 13 shooting clip, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Rapchinski finished with 13 points on a four of five shooting clip, while Brooks and Henninger each scored 11. Freshman Karolena Szolack added a career-high 10 points, also equaling her career high in rebounds with five. Classmate Anna Walker also posted a career-high in scoring, going three of six from downtown for nine points.
Messiah placed five players in double-figure scoring for the second time of the season in the record-setting win, equaling the 10th time in the last 13 games that the team had at least four players hit double-figure tallies. Brooks notched double-digits in points for the 10th straight game. The Falcons outrebounded an opponent for the 12th straight game, while the difference on the boards (42 to 18) also equaled a season-best discrepancy.
“We obviously shot lights out, and a lot of that had to do with our ability to make extra passes,” Miller said. “We really challenged Sal to look at attacking the rim, and she did great.”
Messiah will next return to conference play for a two-game home stand, hosting rival Elizabethtown College Tuesday night before facing off against a talented Lebanon Valley College side next Saturday. The Falcons will host E'Town at Brubaker Auditorium as part of a women's-men's double-header Tuesday night. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
