Chester, PA – Gillian Glackin scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Messiah College to a 67-65 win over Widener University on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons held off the Pride in the final seconds, with Jen Fairbanks' three-point play with 2:01 to play breaking a 59-59 tie and giving Messiah the lead for good.

"This was certainly a good win for us," head coach Mike Miller said. "We played with really good energy tonight, and we made some big plays at the end to hold on."
 
Fairbanks' finish with two minutes to play broke the fourth tied score of the second-half, and her free-throw put the Falcons up by three points. A possession later Glackin gathered an offensive rebound and put it through for a 64-59 advantage.

"Jen's play was big at the time," Miller said. "But we still had to fight through those last minutes to stay in front."
 
With under a minute to play Julia Venturelli hit a three-pointer to draw the hosts within 64-62, and Glackin then hit one of two free-throws to make it a three-point game once more.
 
After a timeout by Widener, Ally Ferrucci hit a driving layup with 12 seconds to play to make it a one-point game. Glackin was fouled once more, and she hit both her attempts from the stripe to make it 67-64.
 
Ferrucci herself was then fouled away from the rim, but she missed the front end of her one-and-one offering. But the Falcons turned the ball over after gathering the rebound, and Widener got the back back once more. This time, Venturelli was fouled on her attempt, but she missed her second attempt with just a second on the clock. Despite not gathering the rebound, the Falcons managed to keep the Pride from getting one last chance to even the score.
 
"We could have done a better job in the last minute," Miller said. "We didn't make a few plays that would have made it easier, but we battled enough to come out on top."
 
Glackin was undoubtedly the star of night. She shot 6-12 from the field and hit 15-20 attempts from the free-throw line.
 
"Gillian was fantastic tonight," Miller said. "She didn't just score and rebound, she was relentless. She ran hard the whole night and created offense with her aggressiveness and her rebounding. She was a leader for us tonight."
 
Glackin was the lone Falcon in double-figures, though Fairbanks finished with nine points and six rebounds. Hannah Nichols added seven points and seven rebounds, and also drew praise from Miller afterwards for her solid play on both ends.
 
Widener (2-3, 0-2) was led by Ferrucci's 18 points. Venturelli added 13 points and Allison Gallagher contributed 10 points. Gallagher also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Falcons will look to make it two in a row when they travel to play Dickinson College on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.