Grantham, PA - Gillian Glackin's successful free throw with 0.3 seconds remaining gave the Falcons a 69-68 win over Stevenson University. The Falcons now move to 13-0 and 4-0 in the MAC Commonwealth.

Four Falcons were in double figures tonight and scored 62 of Messiah's 69 points. Kristen Smoluk and Maci Thornton led the Falcons in scoring with 16 points each, Thornton also collected eight rebounds. Gillian Glackin received her fifth double-double of the season by scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 boards. Alecia Rohrer also contributed 15 points and seven rebounds for Messiah.

An action packed fourth quarter had fans on the edge of their seats. The Falcons had a seven-point lead (66-59) after Kristen Smoluk knocked down a jumper with less than three minutes remaining. The Mustangs began chipping away at Messiah's lead and went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 66-66. Alecia Rohrer was able to knock down a free throw to give Messiah a one-point advantage but Stevenson's Imani Sanders answered with a baseline drive and lay-up to present the Mustangs with a 68-67 lead. With 24 seconds remaining, Jen Fairbanks was sent to the line where she scored her first shot and tied the game up. Fairbanks missed her second opportunity but Messiah crashed the boards hard and received possession for another opportunity to score. Glackin was fouled on a put-back attempt and headed to the charity stripe with 0.3 seconds remaining. She connected from the line and that would give Messiah the win and continue their winning streak.
 
The Falcons started the game with a 12-2 run over the Mustangs and led the entire first half. Alecia Rohrer was a main contributor especially in the first quarter, scoring eight of her 15 points in the first 10 minutes. Messiah continued to push the tempo and ended the first half with a 13-point advantage (36-23) over Stevenson and shot 41.7% from the field.
 
The Mustangs came out strong and with momentum, in the third quarter and really emphasized getting the ball to their star player, Sara Tarbert. Towards the end of the quarter Tarbert knocked down a pair a free throws to give the Mustangs a one-point lead (49-48), but Glackin scored a quick jumper and Thornton knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Falcons a three point lead heading into the thrilling fourth quarter.
 
Smoluk had a career-high night with 16 points and 10 of those were scored in the fourth quarter. Sara Tarbert had an exceptional night for the Mustangs.  Although, Messiah held Tarbert to only eight points in the first and second quarters, she came alive in the second half and finished the game with 37 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Overall the Falcons struggled to find their rhythm offensively, they were 27 for 72 (37.5%) from the field, 2 for 10 (20%) from the three-point line, and 13-18 (72.2%) from the free throw line.  Defensively, Messiah did a great job on the glass collecting 23 offensive boards and 16 defensive. The Falcons also collected six steals and four blocked shots. 

The Falcons won't get much of a rest as they are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 7 as they take on Widener University at 3:00 p.m.