Williamsport, PA – No. 20 Messiah women's basketball team picked up a big road win at Lycoming College on Wednesday evening. Although the Falcons struggled to find their rhythm offensively in the second half, they were able to hold on and defeat the Warriors 60-54. Messiah moved to 17-1 overall and 8-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.
The Falcons shot 23 of 54 (42.6%) from the field, 11 of 16 (68.8%) from the free throw line and struggled from three point range shooting only 3 of 18 (16.7%).
Alecia Rohrer led the Falcons in scoring, she shot an outstanding 7 of 10 from the field (70%), finished with 17 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Gillian Glackin scored 14 points and collected 7 boards, while
Kaitlyn Hoff finished with 10 points and six assists.
The last time Messiah and Lycoming met on November 30th in Brubaker Auditorium, the Falcons dominated and defeated the Warriors 83-42. Wednesday evening's game was a much different story which ended in a close battle in the fourth quarter.
Messiah started the game very strong going on an 11-1 run over Lycoming. Outstanding defense and pressure by the Falcons' squad, created 13 points off of Lycoming's 8 turnovers in the first quarter.
Kaitlyn Hoff had a phenomenal first quarter performance by contributing seven points and three steals.
Although the Falcons picked up some early fouls in the second quarter, Messiah continued to defend well and hold the Warriors to only eight points. Offensively, Messiah continued to control the pace of the game and extend their lead, and seven different Falcons contributed offensively in the quarter. Lycoming on the other hand struggled to get into their offensive set because of the defensive pressure and scrappiness of the Falcons. Overall, Messiah had a very strong first half. The Falcons shot an impressive 15 of 29 (51.7%) from the field in the first half and converted 17 points off of turnovers.
Kaitlyn Hoff and
Alecia Rohrer dominated on the offensive end and each contributed nine points, respectively. Messiah led the whole first half of the game and went into halftime with a comfortable 39-22 advantage.
Lycoming came out of halftime looking like a different team; the Warriors introduced a full court press and set up in a zone on the defensive end. At the beginning of the third quarter, Messiah had two quick turnovers in which the Warriors took advantage of. Lycoming went on a 10-0 run and cut Messiah's lead down to seven (39-32). Midway through the quarter,
Jocelyn Chavous scored Messiah's first bucket of the second half with a layup, but in turn the Warriors went on a 7-0 run. The Falcons struggled offensively in the third and were only able to convert three shots, but they still managed to secure their 46-39 point lead going into the fourth quarter after
Becca Isaac hit a big three pointer.
The fourth began much like the previous quarter, and the Warriors seemed to have momentum over the Falcons. Three minutes into the final quarter, Lycoming's Nicole Calella scored a layup in the paint to tie the game at 46-46. One minute later, Kayla Kline converted a three-point play to give Lycoming their first lead of the game, 49-46.
Alecia Rohrer connected on back-to-back possessions which allowed the Falcons to regain their lead with four minutes remaining. As the clock began to wind down,
Gillian Glackin scored back-to-back jumpers to extend the Falcons lead to seven points (57-52). Lycoming then answered with a three to try to chip away at Messiah's advantage, but there wouldn't be enough time. With less than a minute remaining, the Warriors began fouling the Falcons to stop the clock, but Glackin, Hoff, and Smoluk were all able to contribute from the line to hold on for a six point victory over the Warriors.
Lycoming had outstanding performances by Kayla Kline and Akilah McFadden. Kline finished the game with 24 points and McFadden added 14. The Warriors moved to 11-7 overall and 5-5 in the MAC Commonwealth.
The Falcons are next in action on Jan. 28 at 3:00 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium against Arcadia University.