Reading, PA — Host Albright College couldn't have expected it to be easy.
And it wasn't.
A 17-point second-half lead from the Lions was completely nullified on a long three ball from senior Katie Kalb at the end of regulation, forcing Saturday's MAC Commonwealth contest into overtime and perhaps putting some serious doubt into the home team which led for the majority of the afternoon.
Albright was able to finish the extra session off in strong fashion, however, burying a huge three with 44 seconds on the clock to seal a 78-73 overtime decision — handing Messiah its first MAC Commonwealth loss since a 59-66 defeat at Moravian College on Feb. 10, 2007.
Messiah's 21-game regular-season league winning streak overall — and 15-game surge this year — had been snapped.
“Give Albright credit,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “We didn't match their energy in the first half and we missed some bunnies. That gave them some confidence, and they were able to get us in transition. They have great guard play, and today (Albright senior guard Bre) Dillon was phenomenal. She put up an All-American-type effort.”
Dillon — who finished with a game-high 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the field — helped Albright to a 35-25 lead at halftime, as the Lions were able to convert 15 of 25 shots overall (60 percent). That percentage was a season-high allowance from Messiah (20-3, 9-1), while the Falcons' 10 of 37 first-half effort from the field was a season-low clip (27 percent).
Those numbers begged an obvious question, as Messiah's seven-day layoff from competition (the team had the league bye during the week) was posed as a possible rationale.
“We're not going to make that excuse,” Miller said. “Did our layoff affect us in the first half? Maybe. But I thought you could only say that about the way we shot the ball. We had a couple of open looks, but just didn't have that edge that we normally do. I don't think it had anything to do with how we defended, or how Albright attacked us.”
The Lions continued to attack at the outset of the second period, scoring nine of the period's first 12 points to open up a 44-28 gap. A free throw from senior Sal Shani and a trey from Kalb pulled Messiah to a 44-32 difference with 15:29 to play, but another Albright run — this one a 7-2 spurt — gave the hosts a 51-34 lead with 13:04 on the clock.
Slowly, Messiah — ranked sixth in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and eighth in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 ballot — was able to make a run that would alter the entire complexion of things. A post bucket from sophomore Michele Schleich was followed with three made free throws, and the Falcons trailed 51-39 with just under 12 minutes to go. The difference was still 12 when senior Ashley Brooks made a power layup at the 11:14 mark.
Then it became the Katie Kalb show.
Kalb got a steal and transition bucket on the Falcons' next defensive possession, trimming the Albright lead to just 53-45. Another defensive stop led to a Kalb three-ball on Messiah's next trip, and when Kalb took a rifle pass from Brooks in for a layup with 9:44 remaining, the Falcons trailed by only a 53-50 margin.
Senior Christa Wenrich followed with a jumper to pull within 53-52 with 8:15 on the clock, while a turnaround move in the paint from Shani gave Messiah its first lead of the second period — 54-53 — with 6:51 to go. Miller's team had forced four straight misses from Albright, turning the Lions over twice during its 13-0 run.
Incredibly, Albright (15-8, 6-4) did not falter. A big three from the Lions' Annie McMahon reclaimed a 56-54 lead on the hosts' next possession, while another jumper from Shani tied things up at 56 on Messiah's next trip. Following a pair of empty possessions from both teams, it was Dillon that got inside, scoring a layup with 5:44 to play. Another jumper from Dillon followed, and again Messiah found itself down — 60-56 with 4:23 remaining.
Kalb dialed up her third long ball of the day on Messiah's next trip, again pulling her squad within a point with 3:40 left in regulation. Albright made four straight free throws over the game's next minute and a half, however, as two missed threes on the Falcons' end led to a 64-59 Albright lead with just 2:25 to play.
Junior Julie Henninger drew a foul and made one of two charity tosses on Messiah's next offensive trip, while a pair of defensive stops helped nullify a missed three pointer on the Falcons' possession between them. Sophomore Angie Rapchinski then got into the lane with just 37 seconds to play, scoring a twisting layup to pull Miller's team within two.
Forced to foul, Messiah got a gift from Albright's MariLynn McMonagle, who was able to make just one of two with 11 seconds on the game clock. Miller used a timeout to ice McMonagle before the charity tosses, assumedly setting up his final play as well.
It turned out to be a good one.
Shani pulled McMonagle's second free throw attempt off the glass, and Messiah worked the ball upcourt needing a three to tie the game. Operating on the left wing, Henninger looked inside before ripping a skip pass over to Kalb, who set up right in front of the Messiah bench.
With the clock ticking down toward triple zeroes, Kalb buried her fourth three of the evening, with just over two seconds to play.
“I think we felt very confident going into the overtime, considering the type of comeback we had made and the way in which we forced OT,” Miller said. “Unfortunately, we got a couple bad bounces and didn't make a couple shots (in the overtime), and Albright did.”
The Lions fouled Shani on the first possession of the extra session — she made one of two — but followed with a driving layup to reclaim a 67-66 lead just 42 seconds in. A Messiah turnover was answered with another layup from the hosts, and Messiah would play catch-up the rest of the way. A layup from Schleich tied the score at 71-71 with 2:02 to play, and both teams came up empty on their next possessions.
It was at that point that McMahon drilled the aforementioned three ball with just 44 seconds on the clock, ultimately deciding the game. Schleich scored another post bucket on Messiah's next possession, but four straight made free throws from Dillon kept the spread, as the Falcons were forced into a turnover on their final possession — trailing by just a 76-73 score with seven seconds remaining.
Kalb finished with a career-high 26 points on 11 of 23 shooting, scoring her last 15 points in the final 16 minutes of game clock. Henninger scored 10 points in just 22 minutes of work, suffering from foul troubles throughout. Schleich scored 10 and equaled her career-high in rebounds with 10, helping to her first collegiate double-double. Shani finished with eight points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Brooks scored eight points, concluding her streak of 12 straight games in double-figure scoring.
Albright's 50.9 percent shooting clip from the floor (29 of 57 overall) was the highest allowed clip for a Messiah opponent this season, while both the Falcons' three-point shooting (five of 20, 25 percent) and free throw shooting (12 of 21, 57.1 percent) were among season lows.
“It was a great contest, and it's a shame we didn't win it, but there's a lot we can learn from this that you can't simulate otherwise,” Miller said. “The kids kept fighting and we made a really good run when things looked pretty bad on the scoreboard. You never know how you'd react to that particular situation until it happens. I thought we kept our offensive identity. No one panicked and started going one-on-four. The kids trusted each other, trusted us, and were able to give ourselves a chance.
“Maybe this will help us in the long run,” he continued. “I know from a coaching staff perspective, we're going to look at some things that we might not have, had we won.”
Already assured home court advantage for the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Playoffs, Messiah will hit the road once more during regular-season play, next traveling to Lycoming College Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. tip-off. The Falcons will then close out the regular-season at home, hosting Widener University next Saturday at 2 p.m.
