By Keaton Kasiguran, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Picking up where they left off last Saturday, the Messiah women's basketball team took another positive step toward the post-season by beating Lycoming College by a score of 64-43 Tuesday night at Brubaker Auditorium. The win was the 20th of the season for the club — marking the 11th straight year the program has hit the milestone.
It was an all-around good night for a Messiah team that seemingly continues to improve with every game, and head coach Mike Miller said he was happy with his team's intent and fight throughout Tuesday's contest.
“I thought our focus was very good for all 40 minutes of play,” Miller said. “The girls played hard and really took advantage of the chance to get better tonight.”
Messiah (20-3, 10-2) came out of the gate slightly shaky, missing their first two attempts, but a pair of free throws from freshman forward Dori Gyori quickly got the home team back on track with nearly the entire half to play. A missed layup by Lycoming senior guard Gina Manbeck led to a Gyori layup at the other end, giving the Falcons their first lead of the night — 4-3 — with 18:37 left in the period.
They would not trail for the rest of the night.
Messiah began to turn up the defense on the visiting Warriors, and two steals in quick succession from sophomore guard Anna Walker began to set the tone for the home team. But as soon as it seemed like the Falcons might pull away from the visitors, Lycoming battled its way back into contest. With 13:47 left in the period, a clutch jumper from Warriors' guard Alicia Engler knotted up the score at 11-11.
That was as close as the Warriors would get to overtaking the hosts, however, as Walker scored six points in a 52-second span to re-establish Messiah's lead. Lycoming looked set to go the distance with the Falcons, but a three-pointer from Messiah freshman guard Nicky Hess with 10:33 remaining killed whatever momentum the visitors may have been gaining, making it a 20-14 affair.
Messiah's defensive pressure came to the fore again two minutes later, as a timely steal from junior forward Michele Schleich took away another offensive opportunity for the Warriors. The Falcons' ensuing possession ended with freshman guard Jordan Seiz finding senior guard Julie Henninger for the open jumper, extending the home team's lead to 24-14.
As the half drew to a close, Messiah's pressure remained unrelenting. Steals from Seiz and Henninger and two more turnovers by Lycoming added fuel to the home team's defensive fire. Another triple from Hess and a layup from freshman forward Tremaine Simmons with 1:58 left helped the Falcons wrap of the final minutes of the half, giving the hosts a 31-20 advantage at the break.
Rock-solid defense would continue to be the story of the game, as Messiah caused 27 turnovers on the night. Miller credited his team's defensive success to their gritty work ethic and unyielding focus.
“Our defensive fight and focus was very good, and our confidence never dropped when we missed shots,” Miller said. “I think our confidence to shoot the ball was a product of our team's defensive focus. The girls believed that we could get the ball back at anytime.”
The home team's focus carried over into the second half, with Seiz stealing the ball again and hitting a jumper to get things started. The tenacious freshman stole the rock yet again just seconds later, this time dishing to Henninger for the layup, putting Messiah up 35-22 with 17:34 left in the game.
By this point, the spirits of the visiting Warriors were nearly broken. The Falcons began to move the ball effectively over the next several minutes, and they were able to find a number of offensive openings. At the 13:52 mark, Henninger passed to Walker for an open jump shot, and a steal from freshman forward Kira Maier found Hess for a layup plus a foul, extending the hosts' lead to 15 (43-28) with 13:07 left to play. Those two plays sandwiched a Gyori steal and layup, adding to Messiah's total 14 takeaways.
Seven minutes later, the Falcon's lead had grown to 26, courtesy of a strong layup from Gyori. However, missed shots from the home team during the closing stages allowed the Warriors to close the gap, if only slightly. Regardless, Messiah's reserves closed the game out valiantly to cruise to their second victory in a row, and 11th by at least 20 points on the year.
“I thought our passing was great all game,” Miller said with a smile. “I was proud of our ball movement, and it was an important reason why we won tonight.”
The hosts' quick ball movement created 17 assists on 21 field goals, had four players finish with nine or more points, and gave Lycoming a multitude of headaches as the Warriors fell to 7-16 (4-8).
At the end of the day, Miller said he was happy with his team's effort. He specifically noted Hess' team-leading performance, in which she matched her career-high game total of 16 points she set in last Saturday's 77-47 win at Arcadia University. Tuesday night, she combined her 16 points with five assists.
“I thought Nicky played really well for the second game in a row,” Miller said. “She was aggressive on the dribble, and she shot the ball well.”
Gyori was also impressive on the night, putting up 11 points and collecting seven boards. Walker rounded out Messiah's double-digit scorers with a career-high 13 points and two steals, scoring nine of those in the game's first 20 minutes.
Messiah — which dropped to 17th in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and 16th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 ballot, must now turn its attention to a road match-up with Alvernia University on Thursday. With two conference games left to play, Miller knows the importance of finishing the regular-season well.
“It's important to win these last two games,” Miller added. “It's important in gaining momentum going into the conference tournament and, hopefully, NCAA's.”
Tip-off at Alvernia's Physical Education Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday.
