Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Elizabethtown, PA — Not even a snow storm — or an ice storm — could slow down the Messiah women's basketball team this week.
After having a tilt at Elizabethtown College postponed — twice — due to inclement weather, the Falcons completed their season sweep of the Blue Jays Thursday night, hanging a 62-51 decision on the hosts.
The win was Messiah's third consecutive, and their ninth in its last 10 games, as the squad appears to be hitting their peak at just the right time: With Thursday's win, Messiah (13-6, 7-2) sits in sole possession of second place in the Commonwealth Conference standings with just five games remaining until the league tournament begins.
Against Elizabethtown (11-8, 3-6) the Falcons trailed 6-4 a few minutes in, but a quick rally resulted in a commanding, 15-6 lead with six minutes elapsed. During the Falcons' 11-0 run, sophomore Dori Gyori hit two free throws and a layup, senior Michele Schleich hit a jumper and a layup, and freshman Chelsea Danel nailed a three pointer.
Messiah increased its lead to 22-10, after sophomore Jordan Seiz connected on a three-pointer at the period's midway point. The team led 31-21 with just four and a half minutes remaining in the first half, seemingly in complete control of the game.
But the Blue Jays rallied, scoring nine unanswered points to cut the Falcons' lead to just 31-30 at the halftime buzzer.
"We started off strong and played great early," said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. "We executed on offense but then brought a letdown on defense. We were up by 10 right before halftime, but didn't finish well on the defensive end."
The Falcons came out in the second half playing noticeably strong. They scored 14 of the period's first 18 points to take a solid, 45-34 lead just seven minutes in. Sophomore Kira Maier sunk two layups and sophomore Nicky Hess hit a jumper and a three-point play.
The Blue Jays threatened, cutting the lead to 51-46 with 7:05 to go, but they never seriously challenged the rest of the way.
"They hit two three's in a row and brought it down to five," Miller said. "But we brought it down the stretch very well. We shot poorly from the foul line at the end (three of 10 in the last three minutes). Luckily we shot very well until then."
Messiah connected on 12 of 23 overall from the charity stripe (52.2 percent), making nine of 13 prior to the very end. The team's 23 of 50 performance from the field (46 percent) was its best clip in the last six outings.
"We're getting better offensively," Miller said. "We had a defensive letdown in the first half but we put both offense and defense together in the second half. They scored just 21 points in the second half, which is impressive considering they average well over 60 for the game."
Gyori turned in a spectacular game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds — her 15th career double-double. Maier scored 11 and grabbed five boards, while Schleich turned in a productive outing with 10 boards and eight points.
"I thought Dori was great," Miller said. "Michele was awesome again. She stopped their leading scorer in the first half (senior Megan Strohman). (Elizabethtown's Kaity) Snyder had 15 points in the first half so we switched Michele to her and she responded well again. (Sophomore) Jordan Seiz also sparked us off the bench."
Messiah will make a quick turnaround thanks to the midweek postponements, and will host Alvernia University Saturday in Brubaker Auditorium. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
