Box Score
Annville, PA – In what may be a preview of the Commonwealth Conference Championship matchup, the No. 10 ranked Messiah College Falcons (4-0, 1-0 CC) downed the seventh-ranked Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen (4-1, 1-1 CC) 62-56 Wednesday evening.
The Falcons'
Taylor Miller—averaging 12 points on the season prior to tonight—took charge of the contest to lead all scorers on the evening with 20 points on 7-17 from the field. The junior guard also dished out a team-high four assists.
Dori Gyori was stymied throughout the first half collecting just two points on two free throws, but the preseason All-American jumpstarted the Falcons early in the second with six of her team's first eight points. Gyori finished with 12 points in the game, complimenting four rebounds.Teammate
Kira Maier impressed on the offensive and defensive side of the ball with 12 points and a team-high six rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
The Dutchmen were led by Caitlin Bach's 15 point, 8 rebound performance. Bach shot 7-12 from the field to help the Dutchmen jump out to an early lead.
For Messiah the game was really a tale of two halves.
Poor shooting, a lack of rebounds, and a paltry one for eight from behind the three-point line had the Dutchmen easing into a comfortable eight-point lead midway through the first half.
“We struggled in the first half defensively tonight,” coach
Mike Miller said following the game. “I thought we could have done a better job on both ends of the court, luckily we went into half time down just four.”
The Falcons and Dutchmen traded quick possessions early on in the first five minutes, personifying the excitement and adrenaline this game brought prior to the opening whistle. After early layups from both teams, the Falcons and Dutchmen pushed the full court, matching bucket for bucket through ten minutes elapsed.
From there, the Dutchmen found some rhythm. LVC's Lauren Ruhl started a 13-6 run from hosts with a long-range three at the top of the key. The next seven minutes saw three Falcons turnovers and ten missed shots turning a one-point deficit into eight, just like that.
With five minutes to play the Dutchmen—and their home crowd—were riding a bit of momentum into the end of the half, driving the Falcons into an up-and-down style of play.
After an LVC timeout, coach Miller and the Falcons caught the hosts off guard, pressing in the full court.
Chelsea Danel created a turnover near the base line, quickly turning it into two points for Falcons and just a six-point deficit.
Again the Falcons and Dutchmen would trade baskets, pushing the score to 33-25 with just over two minutes remaining in the half. A missed jumper on the LVC attacking end was controlled by Gyori and pushed ahead for Miller. Miller's layup attempt was foiled by a foul, giving the junior a chance to cut into the lead yet again, this time at the line. Both of Miller's attempts found twine—the deficit now six.
A frantic last minute saw a layup from LVC's Bach, a missed three-pointer from Danel, an offensive rebound and two more points for the Falcons—all in just twenty seconds. The remaining 40 seconds of the half saw a missed layup from LVC and a clutch shot by—who else—
Taylor Miller near the top of the key with just seven seconds remaining.
What had been an eight point deficit just 60 seconds earlier was cut to four headed into the break.
“Going into the half, we didn't want to do anything different,” coach Miller said of his halftime speech to his squad. “I told our girls that we just needed to get back out there and do what we needed to do. It was nothing too special.”
A revitalized, energetic Falcons team came out of the locker room to start the second led by Gyori. Gyori stepped in for the Falcons to open the second half, scoring six of the team's first eight points, including an impressive sequence under the basket and on the offensive board for a hard fought basket and a tie score.
“Dori has really matured since last season, in all aspects of her game,” Miller said of the All-American forward. “We didn't make a conscious effort to get her the ball, she just stepped up to make a couple shots for us which were huge.”
After pulling even with the Dutchmen, the Falcons traded baskets back and forth, both teams hardly seeming to get an upperhand.
A clutch shot from Miller from just inside three-point range put the Falcons up two, 48-46 and a steal by
Jordan Seiz returned the ball to Gyori, who laid a shot off the high glass and in for two points and a four point lead, 50-46.
From there, the Falcons would not trail again as they would ride baskets from Miller, Danel, and Maier to the buzzer for the six-point victory.
Of Messiah's 25 made field goals, 20 were assisted on the evening, something coach Miller said is “great to see”. The Falcons shot 38% from the field in the game, five percentage points less than their season average.
The win for Messiah ends a three-game losing streak against the Dutchmen, dating back to Feb. 15, 2011.
“This was a good win for us,” coach Miller concluded after the game.
The Falcons continue their conference schedule on Saturday as they travel to nearby Elizabethtown College on Saturday, Dec. 1. Opening tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
