Williamsport, PA — Messiah may have won its third straight game by 20 points or more Wednesday night at Lycoming College, but as head coach Mike Miller said, scores can be deceiving.
After routing Baptist Bible College by an 88-24 score last Thursday and handing Commonwealth Conference foe Widener University a 74-39 loss Saturday afternoon, the Falcons topped Lycoming by a 70-48 count Wednesday, continuing its trend of dominating performances.
Or so the box score would suggest.
Messiah — ranked 15th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and 14th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 ballot — led by only three points at the half and actually trailed early in the second half, utilizing a 37-13 run to close the game — and blow open what otherwise was a reasonably contested tilt.
“We started the game just like we've been practicing lately,” Miller said. “And, in all honesty, that has been kind of 'blah.'”
Turnovers in three of Messiah's first four possessions of Wednesday's game helped Lycoming (3-11, 1-3) to an early 11-3 lead, while misses on five of the Falcons' first six shots from the floor translated into a 16-4 Warriors' advantage with six and a half minutes elapsed.
It wasn't until senior Julie Henninger buried a jumper and freshman Dori Gyori scored on a post move that Messiah (13-1, 4-0) seemed ready to snap out of its collective funk — those baskets coming at the first period's 13:03 and 11:36 marks, respectively.
“Our focus and crispness hasn't been there in practice this week, and it showed tonight,” said Miller, who burned a timeout less than three minutes into the start of the game. “If anything, (tonight's) start shows the importance (of those things).”
Lycoming still held a six-point advantage (25-19) with just over six minutes to go before halftime, but a three-pointer from sophomore Anna Walker keyed a 9-0 Falcons' run to close the half, giving Miller's club its 11th halftime lead in 14 games on the year.
After trading baskets to open the second period, Lyco's Rebecca Land was fouled, converting both free throws to give the hosts a 35-33 lead with 15:51 to play.
If Lyco was going to fade away, it was clear that Miller's troops would have to send them there.
“We talked after the game,” Miller said. “We're going to get peoples' best. We have some people who are still figuring that out.”
A pair of free throws from Henninger tied the game at 35 while a Gyori layup followed a defensive stop, putting Messiah back on top 37-35 with 14:59 to go — a lead that the Falcons would not relinquish.
Freshman Nicky Hess buried her third long ball of the evening to push Messiah ahead by a 41-37 score with just over 13 minutes to play, while another triple from Walker increased Messiah's lead to eight (47-39) with 10 minutes to go.
A steal from Walker followed, and freshman Jordan Seiz converted a transition layup to make it a 49-39 contest.
Lycoming would struggle to get much closer from that point, as another post bucket from Gyori turned it into a 65-45 affair with three minutes to play. A three-pointer from freshman Megan Shipe gave Messiah its largest lead (70-47) before Lyco's Chelsea Shearer hit one of two free throws with five seconds remaining to finalize the scoring.
Messiah buried 15 of 33 shots overall in the second half (45.5 percent) and five of nine from long range (55.6 percent), turning the ball over just six times after 11 miscues in the first 20 minutes of play. The squad also made the most of its misses, finishing with 17 offensive boards to just five for the hosts — leading the rebounding category by a 40-29 difference overall.
Four players carded double-digit point totals for the Falcons, led by Henninger's and Gyori's 12 apiece. Hess and junior Michele Schleich each added 11, while Walker finished with nine — shooting three of four from deep.
“Anna played very well for us tonight, and she made some things happen when we needed them,” Miller said. “We gradually got back to playing at a reasonably high level, we cut down on our turnovers and we rebounded the ball. Any league win on the road is great. You can't underestimate that. We've just got to be better from start to finish, and I think we all understand that.”
Messiah will return to Brubaker Auditorium next, hosting newly-anointed Commonwealth Conference opponent Alvernia University Saturday. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
