Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Annville, PA — As a record-crowd of 1,560 filed into LVC Gymnasium Wednesday evening, it was clear that the Commonwealth Conference re-match between Messiah and host Lebanon Valley College would be the Falcons' biggest game of the year to date.
A little less than two hours later, as the majority of the pink-laden fans vacated their seats, it was clear Messiah was up to the challenge.
Huge performances from sophomores Nicky Hess and Kira Maier — along with unnerved play down the stretch — helped Messiah come out of a raucous environment with a 59-55 win, snapping a 15-game LVC winning streak and stunning the largest crowd in the history of LVC Gymnasium in the process. The Dutchmen — who were ranked ninth in this week's ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll and 11th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 ballot — could not come up with a big play in the game's final five minutes, as the Falcons hung on with clutch free throw shooting and stellar defense late.
"We were very hopeful for this game," said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. "We've definitely improved in the last few weeks. This was a big game, especially since LVC was raising money for breast cancer awareness. It was a fun game and we were looking forward to playing it."
Serving as the opponent for Lebanon Valley's fourth annual 'Pink Night,' Messiah (15-6, 9-2) did not seem bothered by the hoopla surrounding the game. With Lebanon Valley (20-2, 10-1) donning pink uniforms and nearly everyone in the crowd wearing pink as well, Miller said the festive atmosphere might have even calmed his players.
“It was a great environment,” he said. “I think as a player, you always want to play in a setting like this. But at the same time, everything LVC was doing tonight was in hopes of raising money and awareness for breast cancer. That's a constant reminder that we're just playing a game. There are a lot more important things to be concerned with.”
The Falcons jumped out to 3-0 and 6-2 leads on three-pointers from Hess — a prelude of what was to come. Senior Michele Schleich hit a jumper and a layup to increase the Falcons' lead to 10-5 with just five and a half minutes elapsed, as Miller's club kept the crowd from reaching a fevered pitch early.
Lebanon Valley slowly cut into the Falcons lead, however, tying the game at 19 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. With the score 20-19 in favor of Messiah, Hess hit another three-pointer to give the Falcons a 23-19 lead with just over three minutes to go.
The Dutchmen ended the half on a quick 8-2 surge, taking the lead for the first time at 25-23, and entering halftime with a 27-25 lead.
As has become their trademark, the Falcons stormed out at the start of the second half. Trailing 27-29 a minute and a half into the stanza, Hess connected on her fourth three-pointer to give the Falcons a 30-29 lead. A minute later, Maier added a layup, foul shot and jumper to give the Falcons a 37-31 lead.
Lebanon Valley again fought back, taking the lead at 40-39. But Maier hit a quick jumper to give the Falcons the lead back on the visitors' next possession, setting up what appeared to be a battle that would come down to the final horn: Trailing 45-40, LVC scored six in a row to take a 46-45 lead with 6:47 to play.
Hess followed with her fifth trey of the night, and Messiah led once again, 48-46. LVC connected on a pair of baskets, but sophomore Dori Gyori finished a couple of layups and Hess added her sixth shot from behind the arc to give the Falcons a 55-50 lead with just 2:55 remaining.
Lebanon Valley would never sniff a lead again.
Two free throws from freshman Taylor Miller extended a 55-52 Messiah lead into a 57-52 spread with 17 seconds to go, while a three-pointer from LVC's Tierny Hiltz made it a 57-55 contest with just five seconds remaining. Maier was fouled to stop the clock following a Dutchmen timeout, but the Medford, New Jersey native calmly drained both of her free throws, polishing off perhaps her finest game as a collegian: Maier finished with 18 points on seven of nine shooting, grabbing six rebounds and swiping four steals as well.
Hess was equally as impressive, making a single-game career-high six treys, finishing with a season-high 18 points as well.
"Nicky Hess shot the ball great today," Miller said. "She made two big threes at the start of the game. Throughout the game, her shots were there. She also guarded their best player, (LVC senior) Andrea Hoover, and held her to just four points and six turnovers. Hoover wasn't able to control the game like she always does. Kira (Maier) was also wonderful today. She played the best game of her college career. You have to have performances like that to win a game like this."
In the end, Miller and company could hang their hat on Messiah's trademark defense, as — outside of Hiltz's late trifecta — the Falcons limited LVC to just two free throws and no field goals in the final four minutes of action. The win also kept Messiah's late-season surge in tact, as the club has now won five in a row and 11 of its last 12, losing just once in the last seven weeks.
"The game was an absolute battle today," Miller said. "I encouraged the girls at halftime. I know that our second-half defense is always better because we seem to get a feel for what (opponents) are doing. Taylor and Kira each hit a couple of big free throws in the last few minutes. Our clutch foul shooting was huge. We've just got to keep working on our offense. Our defense is great. We had a season-low 12 turnovers. When you win by just a possession, that's obviously helpful."
Messiah will look to keep its collective momentum in tact Saturday, when league foe Arcadia University visits Brubaker Auditorium. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
