Owings Mills, MD – Despite shooting just 31% from the field – their third lowest performance of the season - the Falcons (12-6, 6-3) pulled within four points of Stevenson University (9-6, 6-3) in the fourth quarter Thursday night, but couldn't seal the deal in the end. The Mustangs went on to outscore the Falcons 14-6 in the final minutes, handing Messiah their third MAC Commonwealth loss of the season at 60-46.

The game started off at a bit of a frenzied pace with neither team really finding their groove on the offensive end. The Falcons attempted to create an advantage by applying full court pressure, but quickly picked up five team fouls. As a result both Kaitlyn Hoff and Dominique Seamon were forced to take a seat on the bench during the first quarter.

Gillian Glackin (six points) and Libby Timmer (four points) made up for their teammates' absences as they were the only two Falcons to tally in the first 10 minutes of play. Despite their efforts, the Mustangs were ahead 11-10.

Stevenson extended their lead in the opening possessions of the second quarter by taking advantage of the Falcons' miscues.

Messiah came up empty in their first few possessions, turning the ball over which led to a good bucket for the Mustangs and a foul by the Falcons. In two different possessions, Stevenson found themselves in an and-one situation, but failed to convert the free throws. Despite the misses, Sarah Tarbert – the MAC Commonwealth leader in rebounds - was there to grab the offensive board and get the put back for the 15-10 lead.

Tarbert added three more layups before the end of the half for a total of eight points in the paint.

After being held scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter, the Falcons went on a 9-4 run to pull within two points with 2:50 left in the half. Timmer, Maci Thornton, Kristen Smoluk, and Glackin each tallied in the effort.

The offensive push wouldn't last though, as Stevenson's Stephanie Martinez hit her first triple of the game to extend the Mustangs' lead to 24-19.

Tenacious defense led to back-to-back turnovers by Stevenson in the final moments of the half, but the Falcons were unable to convert the miscues into much-needed points. Glackin did, however, add a single free throw before the halftime bell tolled, bringing the Falcons' deficit to just two possessions at 24-20.

In the half, the Falcons shot just 24.1% (7-29) from the field and were 1-8 (12.5%) from behind the arc. On the positive side, they shot 83.3% (5-6) from the charity stripe and had six blocks.

The third quarter started off as a very back-and-forth affair as both teams converted on their first few possessions. The Falcons were on the verge of overtaking the Mustangs after a layup from Jen Fairbanks brought them within one point, but back-to-back triples from Martinez and Caitlin Roy thwarted the possibility.

Those long-range shots proved to be the difference makers in the quarter as both teams' stat lines were virtually identical. In the third, both teams were 8-16 from the field with Messiah holding a slight advantage from the charity stripe, 2-4 as compared to Stevenson's 1-2. However, the Mustangs added six points from three while the Falcons came up empty (0-3); resulting in a 43-38 lead for Stevenson.

The similarities faded in the fourth quarter as the Mustangs found their rhythm, shooting 53.8% (7-13) from the field and 75% (3-4) from the charity stripe.

The Falcons early struggles found their way back in the fourth as they shot only 23.1% (3-13) from the field, 33.3% (1-3) from behind the arc, and 50% (1-2) from the free throw line.

As a result, the Mustangs gained the momentum necessary to hold the lead and increase it for the aforementioned 60-46 win.

Stevenson's Caitlin Roy contributed nine points in the final stanza, resulting in a career-high 18 points. Sara Tarbert led all scorers with 15 points and 11 rebounds for her tenth double-double of the season.

Gillian Glackin led the Falcons with 19 points and five rebounds. Both Libby Timmer and Jen Fairbanks added eight points.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday when they travel to Alvernia University. The MAC Commonwealth contest will begin at 1:00 p.m.