Box Score
Lancaster, PA — Consider it a pre-emptive New Year's resolution.
Playing for the first time since a hard-fought and commendable 64-73 loss to fourth-ranked Kean University, Messiah handed Franklin & Marshall College a 58-42 defeat Friday afternoon, the team's first road victory of the season.
The Falcons scored the game's first seven points and jumped out to an 18-3 lead over the host Diplomats just eight minutes in, never trailing in another impressive performance.
Coupled with the squad's play against Kean, it appears as if Messiah is anxious to bring in the new year with a new brand of basketball.
“We clearly weren't happy with how we were playing collectively,” Miller said following Friday's game. “But today ... there's no doubt in my mind that this is a continuation of (how we played against) Kean. We had three really good days of practice and everyone was all in. I couldn't be happier with how we played today.”
Returning after a short break for the Christmas holiday, Messiah (5-5) made it a certainty that it would even its record early in Friday's contest. A triple from freshman Taylor Miller on the Falcons' second possession and a jumper on the team's fourth began a 7-0 start, while a made free throw from sophomore Dori Gyori capped an 18-3 beginning at the 12:02 mark.
It was all too much for Franklin & Marshall (5-5) to handle, as Miller's club built as much as a 23-point lead before going into the intermission with a 37-17 advantage, knocking in 14 of 24 shots (58.3 percent) while limiting the Diplomats to a lowly six of 29 performance (20.7 percent).
“The first half, we were a machine defensively,” Miller said. “In terms of team defense, help the helper, things like that, it was the best we've played all year. We knocked down some outside shots, and for the first time all year, we made a bunch early. That certainly helped.”
And even though Messiah would cool off shooting the basketball in the second half — six of 18, 33.3 percent — continual defensive pressure and a calmness at the foul line kept things from getting close. The Falcons hit nine of their 15 free throws in the final 20 minutes of play, holding F&M to just 10 of 30 shooting (33.3 percent) during that time as well.
Miller's group led by as many as 26 points (47-21) with 13:56 to play, but the Diplomats made a gradual push. A layup from the hosts' Beth Holt made it a 52-40 contest with 3:27 remaining, but a strong post move from Gyori and two freebies from Miller grew the Falcons' lead back to 16 a minute later.
Senior Michele Schleich led all scorers with 13 points on three of four shooting from the floor, grabbing seven boards and dishing out a pair of assists. Miller scored 12 points, while sophomores Nicky Hess and Kira Maier each added nine. Gyori shared team-high rebounding honors with Schleich, collecting seven caroms.
“Kudos have to go to Michele,” Miller said. “(Franklin & Marshall's) Megan Pauley came in averaging 16 points per game and 15 shots per game. Every time she stepped on the court, Michele was guarding her. For her to limit her to one of eight shooting and four points was tremendous. In addition to that, she handled the ball for us, rebounded and scored. She was outstanding.”
The victory snapped a three-game losing skid for the club, as well as beginning a busy New Year's stretch: Counting today's game, Messiah will play four times in nine days, continuing Monday against Lehman College.
“I'm looking forward to this week,” Miller said. “Classes don't begin until Wednesday, so we're able to have extra time to prepare and practice. It's actually a good schedule for us. We're excited with how we're playing and improving, and we'd like to continue to get some momentum going.”
Messiah will host Lehman Monday evening in Brubaker Auditorium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
