Box Score
Williamsport, PA — Even Messiah head coach Mike Miller is a little surprised at how well his girls have been playing recently.
Following Tuesday's 67-50 drubbing at Lycoming College, the Falcons have now won seven in a row — all Commonwealth Conference games — by an average of 12.7 points per game. After a dismal three-game losing streak in the middle of December, they've collected a victory in 13 of their last 14 games, including 10 wins by a double-digit margin.
Tuesday's performance in Lamade Gymnasium may have taken the proverbial cake.
Messiah (17-6, 11-2) used an unbelievable streak of 20 unanswered points, easily its longest of the season, to turn a 11-6 lead with three minutes elapsed into a 31-6 laugher with 7:48 to go in the opening half. The squad led 40-18 at halftime and coasted to the 17-point victory.
"We've had some really tough games in our schedule," Miller said, “but we're finding a way to win the close games. We're getting things going against good teams. I thought we could do this, but until you actually do it, you honestly don't know if it's possible."
Tuesday's result entered the realm of possibility thanks to a first half which saw the Falcons shoot 51.7 percent from the floor while limiting Lycoming (9-15, 4-9) to just six of 18 shooting (33.3 percent) while forcing the hosts into 11 first-half turnovers. Early in the game, freshman Taylor Miller nailed a couple of three-pointers to raise the Falcons' lead from 5-4 to 11-4. Lycoming added a layup to cut the lead to 11-6, but the Falcons then turned in their most impressive 8:44 of the season. After Kaitlyn Ober's layup gave the Warriors their fifth and sixth points, Messiah embarked on an incredible 20-0 run.
Sophomore Kira Maier started the rally with a layup to increase the lead to 13-6. Classmate Nicky Hess then scored seven, coming off two three-pointers and a free throw. Sophomore Dori Gyori scored five, Miller added two, and junior Tremaine Simmons scored the final four.
When the offensive explosion ended, the Falcons led 31-6, and almost eight minutes remained in the first half.
Lycoming finally scored, on a pair of free throws. The Warriors added a layup with 6:48 remaining in the half, their first bucket in almost ten minutes.
The Falcons increased their lead from 35-12 to 40-12 with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer by Gyori. They coasted into halftime with a 40-18 lead, getting all 14 available players on the court.
"Today's first half was easily one of our best of the season,” Miller said. “It was really a continuation of how well we've been playing this season. We got to get a lot more people in there. It was nice that everybody was able to get experience."
The second half was mere maintenance for Miller's club, as Messiah kept Lyco at arm's length throughout. The final margin was as close as the Warriors would get, as the Falcons maintained at least a 20-point spread until the final 19 seconds of play.
Gyori paced the team with 19 points, eight boards, four steals and three blocks in 28 minutes of work. Maier scored 13 in just 21 minutes, and Miller added 12. Senior Michele Schleich equaled her career-high in assists, with five.
"Going into the game, we were concerned about (Lycoming's) offense and whether we would be able to pressure," Miller said. "Quite honestly, they did not have an open shot in the whole first half. Our defense barely gave up any attempts. We executed really well, shut them down, ran our offense, and hit open shots."
Thanks to the team's recent stellar play, Saturday's regular-season finale against Albright College is meaningless in regards to the post-season landscape. Messiah will finish as the league's number two seed, and will host fourth-seeded Widener University in one of the Commonwealth Conference Semi-Final match-ups. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Regardless of its importance, Saturday's game against Albright will go on as planned, as the Falcons honor Schleich as their lone senior in Brubaker Auditorium. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
