Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA -- Coach Mike Miller had to keep his team optimistic following Saturday's dismal second half performance against sixth-ranked Christopher Newport University, in which the Falcons were outscored by a ridiculous 53-9 margin in the second half.
"We went back and talked about what we wanted to accomplish, what our goals were, and what we needed to do," Messiah head coach Mike Miller said. "We had had five games in ten days. We used this opportunity to reassess our goals for the season."
Coach Miller didn't need to worry at all.
The Falcons improved to 4-2 (1-0) with a dominating 53-37 victory over the Lycoming College Warriors (3-3, 0-1).
They shot just 37 percent (19-51) but they played spectacular defense, holding a team that has averaged 72 points this season to just 37 for the day. More importantly, they earned a victory in their first Commonwealth Conference game of the season.
The Falcons led 3-0 just 27 seconds into the game, after sophomore Dori Gyori nailed a jumper and hit a free throw. They held a 6-5 lead before embarking on a spectacular 12-0 run, highlighted by three pointers by freshmen Taylor Miller and Chelsea Danel. Gyori added two layups.
Just before the end of the first half, Danel sunk a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 32-17 lead. Senior Kaitlyn Ober hit a buzzer-beating layup to conclude the first half, with the Falcons leading 32-19.
The Falcons struggled offensively in the second half, missing their first nine shots, including four from the three-point range.
Lycoming College cut the lead to 11 points, 34-23, before the Falcons scored seven in a row, on two foul shots by sophomore Kira Maier, a jumper by Gyori, and a Danel three-pointer, to take a commanding 41-23 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game.
The Warriors fought back, cutting the Falcons' lead to 13, but layups by junior Tremaine Simmons and Gyori, plus a big three-pointer by Miller, gave the Falcons a 52-32 lead with 4:40 left.
The Falcons coasted to a 53-37 victory, holding the Warriors scoreless over the final 2:54.
"I was impressed with our defense," Miller said. "We defended well on every possession after the first half. We did a good job of not getting distracted by their high scoring offense. They average 72 per game and we had a goal of keeping them to just 42 tonight. We held them to 37. I thought we put a lot of energy out defensively."
Gyori led the Falcons with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting. She also grabbed nine rebounds, tying her with Maier for the team lead. Danel connected on 4 of 5 three point shots to finish with 12 points on the day. Simmons added nine points, and Miller connected on 3 of 15 three pointers to finish with nine points.
"We didn't shoot the ball well tonight," Miller said. "We need to get better offensively and make a higher percentage of our shots. We're going to have to work on drill penetration instead of waiting until the shot clock runs down and taking long shots."
The Falcons return to play at Widener University (6-1) on Saturday, December 4th at 1:00 p.m.
