Grantham, PA - The Falcons avenged their 54-58 loss to Lebanon Valley from earlier in the season with a commanding 61-52 win over the Dutchmen (16-8, 10-5) on Tuesday evening in Brubaker Auditorium.

Messiah's "bigs" had a great night with Gillian Glackin and Alecia Rohrer contributing 13 points each. Kaitlyn Hoff also added double-digit scoring with 10 points, six of which came from behind the arc, and added eight assists. Lebanon Valley's Bridget Rothert led all scorers with 17 points.
 
Glackin's 13 point outing marks her 14^th double-digit offensive contribution of the season and she is now only 16 points away from reaching 1,000 career points.
 
It was anyone's game through the first quarter as both teams scored in spurts, resulting in a 14-12 lead in favor of the Falcons (17-7, 11-4). 
 
Things quickly changed in the second, however, as the Falcons' stout defense went to work. Intense ball pressure slowed down Lebanon Valley's transition game, resulting in six turnovers by the Dutchmen. The Falcons turned those miscues into seven points, resulting in a 10-point advantage with under 3:00 left in the half.
 
Dominique Seamon and Hannah Brown each drained threes in the Falcons' final two possessions of the half, giving their team a 14-point lead (33-19) at the break.
 
The Dutchmen came out swinging in the third quarter and used a 10-0 run to pull within four at 33-29. The Falcons didn't help themselves in the early moments either, as they turned the ball over in their first three possessions. 
 
After coming up empty in six straight possessions to start the second half, Hoff found Glackin at the block for a much-needed layup that broke the Falcons' scoring drought. With the bucket the Falcons found renewed energy and went on to outscore the Dutchmen 10-4, reclaiming a 10-point lead (45-33) to end the third quarter.
 
The Falcons were very balanced in their late offensive effort as both Hoff and Kristen Smoluk hit from downtown, while Rohrer and Jen Fairbanks each added a layup.
 
Despite being outscored 16-19 in the final frame, the Falcons remained steady throughout with nine of their 16 points coming from the free throw line. Fortunately for the Falcons, they shot above their average (71.8%) and went 9-10 (90%). Their seven remaining points came from Fairbanks (three points) and Rohrer (four points) and were the only points scored from the field.
 
On the night, the Falcons were 20-48 (41.7%) from the field, 6-13 (46.2%) from three, and 15-20 (75%) from the charity stripe.
 
 With the win, the Falcons move to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in the MAC Commonwealth, taking sole possession of second place. They will close out the regular season on Saturday when they host Arcadia University at 3:00 p.m.