XML Box Score Owings Mills, MD - The women's basketball team's three game win streak came to a dramatic end Wednesday evening when they lost a heart-breaker while on the road at Stevenson University. In one of the most dramatic games played to date, the Falcons (8-6, 5-2) led through most of the second half but a feisty Mustang (8-6, 6-1) side battled until the final bucket. A made free throw from
Taylor Miller put the Falcons ahead 70-69 with five seconds left to play, but it was Stevenson's Stephanie Martinez who threw up a shot just steps inside the mid-court line that gave the Mustangs the 72-70 come-from-behind victory.
Chelsea Danel led the Falcons with 12 points and three assists, while Miller 12 points),
Sienna Wisse (12 points), and
Hannah Nichols (10 points) also contributed double-digit scoring.
"I'm proud of our players," head coach
Mike Miller said. "We battled the entire game and really fought through adversity. We have a lot to be proud of and yet we still have things that need improvement. We'll get back in the gym tomorrow, work through some things, and prepare for Arcadia on Saturday."
Coming into the game, the Falcons were well prepared for a battle with the Mustangs, who are tied for first place in the Commonwealth after beating No. 17 Lebanon Valley College in similar fashion just days ago.
At the start, the teams seemed evenly matched and had little trouble scoring points. Despite a distinct height advantage – Messiah's
Gillian Glackin is 6'2" compared to Stevenson's Ruth Casadevall at 5'10"- the Falcons had a difficult time defending the Mustangs as they drove the lane over and over again. Half way through the first stanza, Glackin picked up two personal fouls in just two minutes and spent the rest of the half on the bench, but this didn't faze the Falcons.
With less than 10 minutes to play in the half,
Chelsea Danel came up big with back-to-back steals that led to both the game-tying and go-ahead layups for Messiah. Throughout the rest of the half, the Mustangs continued to drive the lane and get fouled, while the Falcons' shooting was sharp from the outside. Danel gave Messiah their largest lead when she hit her second three of the half, bringing the score to 37-28 with 1:40 to go.
The Mustangs never backed down, though, responding with six unanswered points to pull within three (37-34). With only 31 seconds left in the half, the Falcons broke through Stevenson's press and
Katelyn Vanderhoff put up an off-balance three point attempt. Although the shot was off the mark, the ball fell into
Emily Martz's hands directly under the basket. Martz finished the layup as the buzzer sounded and was fouled in the process. She completed the three point play and gave the Falcons the 40-34 advantage.
"Our defense wasn't the best in the first half," Miller commented. "We got into foul trouble and that hurt. Chelsea [Danel] came up big for us by getting those steals and hitting that late three. She was a great leader tonight."
In the second half both teams played aggressively, leading to numerous fouls from both sides. Unfortunately for the Falcons their fouls led to eight points for the Mustangs, compared to three points from free throws for Messiah and saw Glackin return to the bench after committing her third and fourth fouls. Stevenson used this to their advantage, outscoring the Falcons 19-13 in the first ten minutes of the half. At the 10:15 mark, Stephanie Martinez drained a long three to tie things up 53-53.
After a Messiah timeout, Nichols drove hard to the basket, drew the foul, and made both free throws for the 55-53 lead. In the next play, Stevenson's Martinez posted up and was fouled on the turnaround jumper attempt, resulting in a single made free throw.
Sienna Wisse extended the Falcons' lead to four when she banked in a long three with 8:30 to play.
The back and forth play continued through the next few minutes, as the Falcons did everything they could to pull ahead while the Mustangs fought to eliminate their deficit. At the 4:44 mark Stevenson did just that. After moving the ball around the outside of the arc, Brittany Page drove past Glackin and got tapped on the attempt. With her fifth foul, Glackin's night was over. Page made both free throws to put the Mustangs ahead 61-62.
After failing to score on their next two possessions, the Falcons' Danel came up big once again. This time she put a lot of pressure on Stevenson as they in-bounded the ball, resulting in a jump ball and possession. On Messiah's in-bounds play, Danel found Vanderhoff cutting back to the basket for an easy layup and the foul. Vanderhoff made the free throw to bring the Falcons back in the game 64-64 with 3:35 to play.
Stevenson responded by scoring five unanswered points – a layup from Kyarra Harmon and another three by Martinez – to pull ahead once again.
After a free throw by
Taylor Miller drew the Falcons closer, they made a strategic defensive change. Messiah set up in a 2-3 zone, resulting in back-to-back turnovers by the Mustangs. The Falcons used those turnovers to put up four points and equalize the score at 69-69 with 1:29 to play.
Both teams were unable to score in their next two possessions and with 15 seconds left on the clock, the Falcons had the ball.
Messiah in-bounded the ball and had no trouble making their way through Stevenson's man-to-man press. With a few clicks remaining,
Taylor Miller drove the lane and ran right into the Mustang's Kayla Kelly as she tossed the ball toward the basket. Kelly fell to the ground and was called for a blocking foul, sending Miller to the line. Miller made one of two free throws to give the Falcons the 70-69 lead.
With just five seconds left on the clock, the Mustangs in-bounded the ball and were quickly pressured by the Falcons. The ball found its way to Martinez who dribbled over the mid-court line and threw up a 45 footer that miraculously found the bottom of the net, sending the home crowd into jubilation. With less than a second left on the clock, the Falcons were unable to get a shot off, resulting in the 72-70 loss.
"I can't say it enough, I'm really proud of our team," Miller said. "We were determined and battled until the very end. A lot of things happened in the conference tonight so we can't dwell on the loss. We need to focus on what's next and move forward."
The night proved to be filled with upsets within the Commonwealth as Arcadia University (8-6, 2-5) snuck by Elizabethtown College (11-2, 5-2) 77-76. Alvernia (5-9, 1-6) picked up their first conference win with a 20 point victory over Widener University (9-5, 4-3).
The Falcons look to improve their conference record this Saturday when they host Arcadia University at 3:00 p.m.
