Box Score -
Photo Gallery
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA - After overcoming a ten-point deficit in the final five minutes of Wednesday's game with Lebanon Valley College, the Falcons came up short in a 56-52 loss. The defeat snaps the team's 11-game win streak.
The highly anticipated battle between Messiah and Lebanon Valley (LVC) had first place implications on the line for the Commonwealth. With the win, LVC completes a season sweep of the Falcons.
The Falcons played the majority of the game without starting forward Kate Vanderhoff and trailed by 10 with just 5:34 left in the game. But they fought back, scoring 12 of the next 14 points to tie the game at 52 with 1:53 remaining. But Messiah would be held scoreless the rest of the way, turning the ball over twice in the final minute for their first loss since an 87-67 affair against Kean University on December 10th, 2011.
"We wanted to stop their transition offense," said Messiah head coach
Mike Miller. "They really hurt us the first time around (in November) and we did a much better job in the full-court tonight. We also wanted to be more aggressive offensively, but we weren't aggressive in tonight's first half. The second half was much better, and it showed. But we didn't do that for 40 minutes."
Things started off brilliantly for the Falcons, who led 4-0 less than a minute into the game on a pair of layups by junior
Kira Maier. Sophomore
Taylor Miller added a jumper a minute and a half later, and the Falcons led 6-0.
But LVC embarked on an 11-0 run, and the Falcons were held without a point for the next 6:26-- a rarity for one of the top offensive teams in the Commonwealth Conference. Junior
Dori Gyori hit a layup to cut the deficit to 11-8, but LVC scored five more quick points to increase their lead to 16-8.
The Falcons held LVC scoreless for the next four-plus minutes, scoring six points of their own to pull within 16-14.
With 5:02 remaining in the first half, the Falcons lost Vanderhoff-- their second leading scorer in points per game this season-- for the remainder of the game with an injury.
"We had to play some different people and use some different rotations," said Miller.
The Falcons entered halftime down 21-19. A game that proved to be a low-scoring affair in the first half would turn into a shootout in the second half.
The Falcons scored four points in the first minute of the second half to take a 23-21 lead. But LVC ran off a 9-0 streak during the next three minutes, giving them a 30-23 advantage.
After trading baskets for a couple minutes, LVC turned the game into an 11-point contest (46-35) midway through the second half. The Falcons did score the next five points, but LVC grabbed control with just over minutes remaining when they moved up 50-40.
At that point, things started clicking for the Falcons. Miller inserted Gyori-- who had four fouls-- back into the game, and the Falcons scored 10 of the next 12 points. Junior
Nicky Hess's three pointer with 3:28 remaining made it a one-possession game for the first time since the beginning of the second half. Gyori and Maier then combined for three free throws to tie the game at 52-52 with 1:53 remaining, sending the packed crowd sporting their "Eyas white-out" t-shirts into a frenzy.
But that's as close as the Falcons would get to a potential victory. LVC's Gia Russo hit a layup with 1:28 remaining, giving LVC a two-point lead. On the play, Gyori registered her fifth foul, ending her game after nine points and five rebounds.
"It would have been nice to have her (Gyori) since we got it down to one possession in the last minute," said Miller. "She had managed foul trouble for most of the night, but it finally caught up to us."
After Russo missed the free throw, Hess missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer with just over a minute to play.
With 37 ticks left on the clock, the Falcons got the ball back after Maier came up with a loose ball. But on the ensuing possession, sophomore
Chelsea Danel was whistled for a travel while attempting a baseline drive from the left side.
With LVC now inbounding, the Falcons were given yet another chance when the Dutchmen were called for a five-second violation. But the Falcons would be unable to tie the game, as a cross-court pass from Hess would be intercepted by the LVC weakside defense.
After two more free throws the Dutchmen held a 56-52 lead that they would take to the final buzzer.
"We just need to make some better decisions with the ball and pay more attention to details throughout the whole game," said Miller. "There are some things that we really worked on and talked about in the last few days that we didn't accomplish tonight, and we lost by a couple of possessions."
The heartbreaking 56-52 loss ended the Falcons' 11-game winning streak and dropped the team to 16-4 on the season, and 7-2 in the conference. Both losses have come to LVC, who the Falcons have a good chance of facing again in the postseason.
With the win, LVC moves to 9-0 in the Commonwealth.
The Falcons were led on offense by Maier, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight boards. She also led the team with four steals and dished out a pair of assists. Hess scored 14 points, including two threes, and grabbed six rebounds with three steals. Gyori scored nine points, and Miller six points.
As a team, the Falcons shot just 17-47 (36.2 percent), while allowing LVC to shoot 19-42 (45.2 percent). Both teams made 15 free throws, with Messiah having one more trip to the line (23) than LVC (22).
"There's no doubt that this team has probably some of the most heart I've ever been a part of, so that's not the issue," Miller said of his Messiah squad. "They worked hard. We just need to pay attention to detail and how we can get better from here on out."
The Falcons will look to rebound from their loss when they travel to Widener University on Saturday, February 4th. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
