Daytona Beach, FL - The Falcons outscored the University of Wisconsin-River Falls 11-4 in the final five minutes of the game to clinch a hard-fought 68-63 victory at the Land of Magic Classic.

During the final moments of Wednesday's game, we all experienced a sense of deja vu as the Falcons (7-4) went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to seal the victory. They did the very same thing during Monday's 59-54 win over Salisbury University.

Despite shooting 39.6% (21-53) from the field compared to UW-River Falls' 44.8% (26-58), the Falcons were stellar from the charity stripe, shooting 91.7% (22-24). UW-River Falls (9-2) went to the line only six times throughout the game and made five of those shots, but the timeliness of the Falcons' sharp-shooting was paramount.

"This was one of the best games we've played in the last few years," head coach Mike Miller said. "Everyone contributed to what was our best offensive execution against a good team."

After pulling ahead by just two points (15-13) after the first quarter, the Falcons saw their advantage vanish as UW-River Falls scored 13 unanswered points to take the lead. The three-minute offensive drive put them ahead by nine points for their largest lead of the game at 30-21.

In the final three minutes of the first half, the Falcons mounted a mighty comeback as they outscored their opponent 8-2 to pull within three.

Gillian Glackin and Dominique Seamon converted on the Falcons' first two possessions of the second half to reclaim a slight one-point lead. The lead changed four more times throughout the quarter with both teams battling to take control.

Three-point shooting fueled UW-River Falls' performance in the third. They hit two triples that increased their lead to five points in two separate occurrences.

The Falcons answered by looking inside. Glackin answered the call, posting six points, while Alecia Rohrer added five points.

Free throw shooting proved critical in the third quarter for Messiah as they shot a perfect 6-for-6 compared to UW-River Falls' 4-for-5. Glackin was 4-for-4 and Rohrer was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

The back-and-forth quarter ended with the score knotted at 48.

Libby Timmer opened the final quarter by making two free throws and giving her team a two-point lead. UW-River Falls responded with five unanswered points, however, swinging the lead back in their favor.

In the next two minutes of play, Seamon stepped up to hit a three and caused a timely turnover that she converted into a fast break layup. Her efforts and two free throws from Jen Fairbanks brought the score even at 57 with 5:39 to play.

In the remaining minutes, the Falcons' defense went to work. Their unrelenting pressure forced four turnovers from UW-River Falls and held their shooters to 0-of-6 from three.

Impeccable free throw shooting played a critical role in the final victory, as well, as the Falcons went 7-of-8 in the final five minutes to solidify the win.

Gillian Glackin earned her fifth double-double of the season, leading the Falcons with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Kaitlyn Hoff and Dominique Seamon each contributed double digits to the tally with 16 points and 10 points, respectively.

The Falcons return to action on Monday when they host Johns Hopkins University at 7:00 p.m.