Grantham, PA — With the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's “Pink Zone” serving as the backdrop, the Messiah women's basketball team honored its seniors with a 71-47 win at Brubaker Auditorium Saturday afternoon, the program's 46th consecutive regular-season conference win at home.
With both teams donning pink warm-ups, headbands and shirts to help raise awareness for breast cancer, it was the Falcons that finished with the brightest hue, ending the first half with a 16-2 run and never looking back.
“It was a really great job by our seniors today,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “(Senior) Kristen Groff really got us started and it's great to keep the (regular-season league) home streak alive. They can really feel like they finished off what they started.”
Miller, who started seniors Groff, Ashley Brooks, Katie Kalb, Sal Shani and Christa Wenrich together for the first time ever, watched Groff score two baskets, collect a steal, dish out an assist and grab a defensive board in the game's first five and a half minutes — leading to an early 10-2 Messiah lead.
The Falcons led by a 19-10 spread 12 minutes into the game, but a 7-2 run from the Pride made it a 21-14 game with just 6:10 to go in the first half.
It was at that point that Messiah (22-3, 11-1) made its most pronounced run of the game, scoring 16 of the period's last 18 points to open up a 37-19 lead at the intermission. Four different players scored at least three points during that surge, led by sophomore Angie Rapchinski's six points in the half's final 3:16. Widener — which initially closed the gap behind an aggressive half-court defense — missed 13 of its final 14 shots from the floor, leading to just a seven of 33 effort overall (21.2 percent).
“We were a little stale offensively in the middle part of the first half, but our defense held them off enough until we got a feel for what they were doing on their defensive end,” Miller said. “They really extended pressure against us, and I think we caught them a tad tired at the end of the first half.”
Ranked 13th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, Messiah pushed out to a 22-point lead (47-25) in the first four minutes of the second period, but Widener (16-9, 7-5) would not succumb. A 12-4 run from the visitors would pull things to a 49-37 difference with 9:19 to play, and it appeared that Miller's team would face a serious test down the stretch.
A 13-0 Messiah run over the game's next three minutes changed all that.
Kalb buried a three on the Falcons' next possession, and Shani followed with two straight post baskets, making it a 56-37 affair. Brooks followed with a layup, then went to the line four straight times — helping to open up a 62-37 lead with just 6:50 to go.
Widener would get as close as 19 points at the 5:15 mark, but a shot-clock beating jumper from sophomore Michele Schleich and another interior bucket from Brooks helped reclaim a 66-43 lead with just a minute later. Two made Schleich free throws were followed by a coast-to-coast layup from junior Julie Henninger, and Messiah had its largest lead of the game — 70-43 — with just 2:55 remaining.
Shani led all scorers and rebounders in the game, charting her eighth double-double of the season — and sixth in the last 10 contests — with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Brooks finished with 13 points and five boards (her 14th game in double-figure scoring in the team's last 15 appearances), while Kalb scored 11. Henninger scored nine points and grabbed six boards to complement a game-high five assists.
“Sal was dominant,” Miller said. “If she continues to play like this, we could be a force. She's really started to attack offensively, and is being aggressive pursuing the basketball off the boards. It has been fun to watch.”
Saturday marked the second straight game that Messiah held an opponent below 27 percent shooting overall (Widener made 15 of 57 shots, 26.3 percent) while the Falcons' start was again a key: For the 11th time this season, Messiah led by at least 16 points at the break. It was the 21st game of the year that the Falcons possessed at least a five-point halftime lead.
“That's been a staple of this team,” Miller said. “We've hit our competition head on, every night out. That's simply the make-up of these kids. They're eager to get on the court, every time we've got a game scheduled.”
Messiah must now face the difficult task of turning around and facing the same Widener team again in post-season play, as the final MAC Commonwealth Conference standings finish with the Pride as the fourth-place team and Messiah as the top seed. That means that the Falcons will host Widener Wednesday night in the MAC Commonwealth Semi-Finals, while third-seeded Albright College will travel to second-seed Lebanon Valley College.
Messiah defeated Widener by a 68-51 score in Chester, Pa. back on Jan. 24.
“Everyone knows the adage about how hard it is to beat a team three times in a season, but what about playing the same team twice in four days?” Miller asked following Saturday's result. “It will provide a challenge for our players.”
Game time for the post-season tilt with the Pride is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday in Brubaker Auditorium. Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for all students. Children under the age of six are admitted free.
