Grantham, PA - A dominant second half lifted the Falcons over Alvernia University (3-4, 0-2) Saturday afternoon 70-52. The win gave Messiah their second MAC Commonwealth victory of the season.
After drawing to a 25-25 tie at the half, the Falcons (5-4, 2-1) came out reenergized for the second half. Scrappy defense, timely rebounds, and key contributions from
Jen Fairbanks,
Alecia Rohrer, and
Gillian Glackin initiated an unprecedented second stanza that saw the Falcons outscore the Crusaders 21-10 in the third quarter and 24-17 in the fourth quarter.
The momentum swung in the Falcons' favor early in the second half when Fairbanks drained a three and followed it up with a layup to put Messiah ahead 30-26.
From there, the Falcons dominated possession as their full-court press and tenacious defense led to 13 Crusader turnovers in the third quarter and six more in the fourth quarter. Messiah converted those miscues into 20 much-needed points throughout the second half to pull ahead and out-score their opponent 45-27 in the late stages.
The Falcons also dominated the boards, pulling down 20 total rebounds in the second half with 17 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second-chance points.
Sharp free throw shooting also contributed to Messiah's turnaround as Glackin (4-4),
Kaitlyn Hoff (2-2), and
Dominique Seamon (1-1) went unblemished from the charity stripe. Rohrer was just shy of perfect at 5-6, while the team held a 75% average (12-16).
The Falcons struggled from behind the three-point line (26.7%), however, resulting in a more focused inside-the-paint effort in the second half. The inside game paid off as Messiah scored 22 points in the paint compared to Alvernia's 10 points.
Additionally, the Falcons' bench played a large role in the late surge, contributing 36 total points.
Fairbanks led the Falcons with 13 points, while Rohrer added 11 points. Alvernia's Stevie Fortna led all scorers with 18 points.
With the win, the Falcons move to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference. They will take a break from competition for final exams then return to action in Daytona Beach, Florida after Christmas. On December 28, the Falcons will play Salisbury University then match up with the University of Wisconsin River Falls on December 30.