GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah College women's basketball team dominated in their home opener against Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday night in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons defeated the Blue Jays 88-42 and move to 1-0 on the season.

On the evening, Messiah shot 56.7% (38-67) from the field and 50% (6-12) from three point range. The Falcons struggled slightly at the free throw line, shooting a rare 42.9% (6-14). Johns Hopkins could not find a consistent rhythm offensively and only shot 26.7% from the field, 11.8% from three point range, and 50% from the line.

Leah Springer, in her sophomore season, led all scorers with 18 points and gathered nine rebounds. Kaitlyn Hoff also had a great performance for the Falcons. Hoff shot 88.9% from the field and contributed 17 total points along with six assists and two steals. Maci Thornton and Jen Fairbanks also scored double-figures for the Falcons. Thornton collected 14 points and Fairbanks scored 13 and added eight rebounds for the squad.

Hot Start for The Falcons
In the first half, the Falcons shot an impressive 23 of 31 from the field (74.19%) and three of four (75%) from behind the arc. Seven different Falcons contributed on the scoreboard in the first two quarters of play. Hoff gathered 14 of Messiah's 51 first-half points and Maci Thornton added 12 of her own. Alecia Rohrer also produced eight points and four rebounds for the Falcons.

The Falcons came out ready to take care of business in their home opener on Jordan Court. Messiah went on an 11-0 run which caused the Blue Jays to call an early time-out after Kaitlyn Hoff scored a fast-break layup. Johns Hopkins scored their first and only bucket of the quarter at the 6:45 minute mark to make the score 13-2. The Falcons then went on a 17-0 scoring run to end the first quarter.

Back-and-Forth Action
The second quarter consisted of some back-and-forth action between both squads. The Blue Jays started to find their rhythm offensively cashing in 16 second-quarter points, while Messiah produced 21 of their own. With just under two minutes remaining in the half, Jen Fairbanks started a Falcon run by knocking in a three-pointer, which was followed by Grace Cryan hitting a free throw and Alecia Rohrer finishing an easy lay-in. Fairbanks finished the run with a jumper in the paint to extend Messiah's lead to 35 points. Hopkins', Maggie Wodicka, knocked down a pair of free throws at the end of the half to make the score 51-18 going into the break.

The third quarter was very similar to the second, Johns Hopkins collected a total of 16 points and Messiah scored 20. Three minutes into the quarter, the Blue Jays went on a 5-0 run to cut the Falcon's lead down to 27 points (59-32). Leah Springer provided some energy to her team and had back-to-back layups to bring Messiah's lead back to 31 points. The Falcons ended the quarter with an 8-0 run to go into the last quarter with a 71-34 lead and they did not look back.

Falcons Finished in Dominating Fashion
Messiah finished the game much like they started it, by dominating on both the offensive and defensive ends. The Falcons held the Blue Jays to only eight points in the last quarter of play. The quarter started off with a successful jumper by Haley Maraday and back-to-back three pointers by Leah Springer and Jen Fairbanks. The Falcons stepped on the gas and did not take their foot off the pedal, winning the game 88-42.

In the second half, Leah Springer led all scorers with 14 points, while Jen Fairbanks and Haley Maraday each collected six of their own. Messiah as a team out-rebounded the Blue Jays 27 to 18 in the second half of play.

Next Up
The Falcons will look to build upon their success this weekend when they host two games in Hitchcock Arena. The first game will be Friday night at 8:00 p.m. against Waynesburg University. Messiah will then have a quick turnaround and face SUNY Geneseo on Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m.