Grantham, PA — Stifling second-half defense led Messiah to its second win in as many tries Friday night, as the Falcons guarded their way to a 77-54 victory over Washington College in Brubaker Auditorium — the nightcap of the 2009 Messiah/Wingate Hotel Invitational and the squad's 2009-2010 home opener.
After York College handed McDaniel College a 63-54 defeat in the evening's first contest, Messiah (2-0) utilized a spirited second half to turn a 39-35 halftime lead into the 23-point laugher, holding Washington (0-1) to just five of 28 shooting (17.9 percent) in the final 20 minutes of play.
That all came after the Falcons allowed the Shorewomen to connect on 14 of 26 first-half attempts (53.8 percent), numbers that reflected well upon whatever was discussed in Messiah's locker room at the break.
“Our defense in the second half was a big key tonight, no question,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “The girls implemented some minor adjustments that we made, both in match-ups and in doing some things to stop (Washington's) ball reversal, and that seemed to work.”
Messiah opened the night connecting on 16 of its first 26 shots from the floor, heading into the intermission boasting a phenomenal 61.5 percent shooting clip.
Washington wasn't much worse, however, and when the Shorewomen's Meghan Tait hit a runner just before the halftime buzzer, the visitors had trimmed a 39-29 Messiah lead into the aforementioned four-point deficit.
That change in momentum was short-lived, however, as the Falcons stormed out of the hafltime gate to score 23 of the second period's first 30 points, opening up what would prove to be an insurmountable 62-42 lead midway through the final stanza.
And while six different players scored during Messiah's 23-7 run to open the second half, the true story came on the opposite end of the floor, where the Falcons limited Washington to just two of seven shooting while forcing eight turnovers — en route to generating 20 total miscues on the night.
“The first half, it was too easy for them,” Miller said in regards to Washington's offense. “We gave up entirely too many open looks. I thought in the second half we were much better in every aspect of our defense. That is the type of effort and play we're looking for.”
Washington would only get within 16 points at any juncture of the game's final 10 minutes, while Messiah opened up its largest lead (76-52) off a three pointer by freshman Megan Shipe with 2:48 to go.
Senior Julie Henninger paced Messiah's offense for the second sraight game, scoring a game-high 18 points while pulling down eight rebounds, dishing out seven assists as well — two off her career high set against Bible Baptist College last year. Junior Michele Schleich continued her torrid start to the season in adding 14 points of a perfect seven for seven shooting performance, while freshman guard Nicky Hess scored 11.
Sophomore Anna Walker buried three of four from long range to chip in nine points, while freshmen Kira Maier and Dori Gyori each did a number on the glass, grabbing nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
“Julie and Michele were phenomenal tonight,” Miller said. “Michele has worked so hard on her offensive game, it's great to see her playing so well on that end. Anna shot the ball well tonight, and I think we're pleased with the direction this group is headed. Shot selection and rebounding could be a hallmark of this group. It's easy to shoot 50 percent when you get the types of looks we're getting. A big part of that is what shots we're choosing to take collectively.”
Miller's team made 30 of 56 total field goals (53.6 percent), posting a shooting clip above the 50-percent plateau for the second time this year. The Falcons' 43-30 advantage in rebounding also kept up a trend, while turnovers — Messiah committed 19 — seemed to be the team's only drawback of the evening.
“We've got to take better care of the ball,” Miller said. “The nice thing is, after tomorrow's game, we've got six practice sessions before our next game. We've got to get better, and we can get a lot done during that time.”
Messiah will conclude the Messiah/Wingate Hotel Invitational Saturday at 3 p.m., facing off against McDaniel. York and Washington will play at 1 p.m. Saturday. Both games will take place in Brubaker Auditorium.
Traditionally a true tournament by structure, this season's invitational was reformatted into a 'classic' due to the fact that Washington and McDaniel both compete in the Centennial Conference and, by conference rule, cannot play one another outside of league play.
Miller said that the invitational will most likely return to its traditional tournament format next season.
