Box Score
Grantham, PA — The arena may have been slightly smaller, but the result was very much the same.
Just over a year after beating Lehman College by a 70-38 score in the IZOD Center, Messiah again dealt the Lightning a dose of defeat, hanging a 73-50 decision Monday night in Brubaker Auditorium.
Incredibly, more people saw Monday's game than last year's, which was played on the home court of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. It made little difference, however, as the Falcons put together their third straight game of good basketball, never trailing in their latest victory.
“This was a good one for us to get,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “A Monday game after a day off ... we were able to beat another .500-plus team. We'll take it and move on.”
Messiah (6-5) utilized a made free throw from sophomore Kira Maier, back-to-back triples from freshman Taylor Miller and sophomore Nicky Hess and a post bucket from senior Michele Schleich, opening Monday's tilt with a 7-0 run and never looking back.
Lehman (6-5) did its best to force the action with a full-court zone press and pressuring defense, but Miller's club was able to handle things, turning a 14-9 ballgame into a 24-11 difference over the span of five and a half minutes of game clock.
The Lightning were able to close the first half with a bit of a push, trailing by just 10 at halftime (30-20), but a methodical push from the hosts widened the gap throughout the second period. After a driving layup from Lehman's Paula Robinson made it a 32-24 game just a minute and a half in, Messiah went on a 13-4 run over the next six minutes — a stint capped by an old-fashioned three-point play from Schleich.
“Michele did it again for us,” Miller said. “I thought she did a wonderful job defensively and was a calming influence for us against their pressure. I thought that, overall, our rebounding was excellent, and we did a very good job defensively.”
Lehman did not challenge throughout the final 12 minutes of action, trailing by as many as 25 points down the stretch. Liberal substituting from Miller helped skew a respectable turnover total — the Falcons finished with 26 giveaways — though six of those occurred in the game's final four minutes.
“I was actually pleased how we handled their pressure, and it's hard to say that looking at 26 turnovers,” Miller said. “There were times that we made some bad choices, but when we actually passed the ball we were pretty good.”
Taylor Miller finished with a career-high 21 points on seven of 14 shooting — including a five of 12 clip from three-point land — to lead Messiah's efforts. Hess added 15 points on a five for six effort from the field — including going four of five downtown — while Schleich scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Maier and sophomore Dori Gyori were a pair of monsters on the boards, securing 11 and eight rebounds, respectively. Those numbers helped the Falcons to an overall 50-35 advantage in rebounding.
“(Lehman) had two people that could really beat you off the dribble, and if we weren't in gaps, they scored,” Miller said. “I was pleased with how we defended in help side. I thought, for the most part, we were aware and came up with some steals.”
Despite not yet starting January term classes — they begin Wednesday — Messiah will keep its busy week going with a Thursday match-up against Neumann University, a squad the Falcons defeated by a 64-55 score in last year's NCAA First Round.
It will be a return trip to Brubaker Auditorium for the Knights, which finished last season with an overall record of 20-7.
“Neumann is an up and coming program that's getting better and better,” Miller said. “Thursday night will be another tough one for us.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
