Grantham, PA – Messiah College opened the Commonwealth schedule with a statement on Saturday afternoon, winning 78-65 over No. 21 Lebanon Valley. Gillian Glackin scored 16 points and collected 15 rebounds to lead five double-digit scorers for the Falcons.
 
Messiah ran off a pivotal 8-1 run with just over five minutes to play to pull ahead for good, and they led by at least nine points from 5:59 to the final buzzer.
 
Libby Timmer scored a career-high 15 points off the bench, and Hannah Nichols hit two huge jumpers in the final minutes to help Messiah even their record at 3-3.
 
"We really changed things up after our first week, and we're starting to play much better," Messiah head coach Mike Miller said, commenting on the team's third win in four games. "We've switched things up on both ends of the court, and the girls are really responding.
 
"Tonight, they were terrific with their execution and spacing, and they got it done defensively."
 
The Falcons ended the first-half on a 10-4 run that put them up 39-28, with Timmer scoring six of those points. Altogether she scored 10 points in the first period, and Messiah shot a blistering 16-28 (57%) overall to earn the early advantage.
 
In the second-half Messiah cooled off from the field (10-30) but they hit 19-23 free-throws to stay ahead of the Dutchmen.
 
Still, the Falcons lead just 53-48 when Glackin scored off a drop-step on the right block. Moments later Timmer scored on a run-out to give Messiah a 57-48 lead. Then, after three defensive stops Hannah Nichols nailed a jumper from the top of the key to give the Falcons a double-digit lead.
 
"Hannah was great tonight," Miller said. "She reacted well to the game tonight, and didn't force the action. She can make shots for us, and tonight she did just that."
 
Nichols finished with 11 points on 4-8 shooting, and combined with Glackin (5-8) and Timmer (7-9) to go 16-25 from the field for 42 of the Falcons' 78 points.
 
Wisse shot just 4-15 from the field but finished with 15 points and four assists, and Dominique Seamon also scored 11 points.
 
"To have such balanced offense really shows that we were moving the ball well and creating good shots," Miller said, adding that Jen Fairbanks was close behind the others with eight points. "We feel like we're going in a good direction and I'm excited to see the girls work as hard as they are."
 
The Falcons evened their record at 3-3 with the conference win. Lebanon Valley fell to 5-1. Bridget Rothert led the Dutchmen with 18 points in the losing effort, though she shot just 5-22 from the field including 2-11 from three-point range.
 
The Falcons will next play on Wednesday, Dec. 3 when they take on Lycoming on the Warriors' home court. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.