GRANTHAM, Pa. – No. 17 Messiah women's basketball picked up another win on the road after they defeated the Chargers from Lancaster Bible College, 82-52. Messiah moved to 6-0 overall and will look to carry this momentum into conference play next week. The Falcons are 1-0 in the MAC Commonwealth after they defeated Lycoming College on Wednesday evening.
Leah Springer continued to thrive offensively for Messiah; she scored 22 points and collected eight rebounds, four assists, and four blocks.
Maci Thornton added 13 points and
Kristen Smoluk contributed 12 points and three blocks.
Jen Fairbanks and
Kaitlyn Hoff each collected five assists for Messiah. The Falcons shot an impressive 53.7% (36 of 67) from the field as a team and 50% (7 of 14) from three-point range. Messiah also got it done on the defensive side of the court by collecting 10 blocks and 10 steals on the evening and they also caused 17 turnovers.
Run Messiah Run
The first quarter of play consisted of two massive scoring runs for Messiah. Lancaster Bible opened the game with a deep-three as the shot clock expired to take an early lead, but Messiah responded with a 9-0 run. The Chargers began to chip away at Messiah's lead after two big possessions. Caitlyn Hickey hit a three-pointer for Lancaster Bible and Kirsten Webster completed an and-one play to cut Messiah's lead down to one point, 12-11. The Falcons then took matters into their own hands and went on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 20-11.
Maci Thornton hit a clutch three-pointer at the end of the quarter to give Messiah a 10-point lead (24-14) going into the second quarter.
Falcons Shoot Lights Out
Messiah went on an 8-0 run to begin the quarter and finished by outscoring Lancaster Bible 19 to 12.
Maci Thornton started things where she left off by hitting a three-point field goal to open the quarter. The very next possession, Springer trailed down the court and hit a wide-open three-pointer to extend the Falcons' lead to 30-14. Messiah cashed in three three-pointers and shot 60% from behind the arc in the second quarter. Patience and ball movement were key for the Falcons and gave them a large 43-26 advantage going into halftime.
In the first half, Messiah caused nine turnovers due to their aggressive man-to-man defense. The Falcons also shot 54.5% from three point range and out-rebounded the Chargers 22 to 14.
Chargers Come Out Strong
Lancaster Bible came out of halftime looking to cut into Messiah's advantage. The third quarter consisted of a lot of back-and-forth action and it was the best offensive quarter for the Chargers. Both Lancaster Bible and Messiah collected 16 points apiece in the 10 minutes of play. Messiah had a tough time defending Courtney Goyak in the paint. Goyak collected eight of her 14 points in the third quarter alone. Although the quarter was not a smooth and rhythmic performance for the Falcons, they were still able to put points up on the board.
Kristen Smoluk, Leah Springer, and
Maci Thornton each collected four points for the Falcons.
Falcons Soar To Victory
Messiah found their rhythm and gained momentum on both ends of the floor; the fourth quarter was all Falcons. Messiah went on an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of play to extend their lead to 70-42.
Alecia Rohrer and Leah Springer ignited the run for the Falcons by working hard inside the paint and getting two quick buckets on back-to-back possessions. The Falcons looked confident offensively in the fourth quarter and they also played impressive defense. Messiah's man-to-man pressure held Lancaster Bible to only ten points in the final quarter of play. The Falcons finished the quarter outscoring the Chargers 23 to 10 and went on to win the game 82-52.
Next Up
Messiah will be back at home for their next two games. The Falcons will continue MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday, Dec. 6th when they take on Arcadia University at 8:00 p.m. Messiah will then host Alvernia on Saturday, Dec. 9th and tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.