GRANTHAM, Pa. – No. 15 Messiah women's basketball picked up another conference win after they defeated Arcadia University 87 to 56 on Wednesday evening. The Falcons moved to 7-0 on the season and 2-0 in the conference. The last time Messiah scored 87 points was in the 2016-17 season against Hood College on February 14th in which the Falcons won 87-49.

Messiah shot an impressive 32 of 66 (48.5%) from the field and were 17 of 22 (77.3%) from the free throw line. Four Falcons reached double-figures and helped lead Messiah to victory. Leah Springer scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Maci Thornton collected 15 points, two assists and two steals. Kaitlyn Hoff added 11 points, five assists and three steals while Kristen Smoluk contributed ten points, six assists, and four steals. Alecia Rohrer also came off the bench and collected nine rebounds for Messiah, while Becca Isaac added eight points and was two for three from three-point range. Eleven different players contributed on the scoreboard in the Falcons' dominating win over Arcadia.

Solid Offensive Showing
The game started a little slow and Messiah did not get into a rhythm until 7:31 on the clock when Kaitlyn Hoff produced a fast-break layup to tie the game at 2-2. Arcadia responded with a bucket of their own but then Leah Springer cashed in a three-pointer to give Messiah their first lead of the game (5-4) and the Falcons took off running. Midway through the first quarter, Messiah went on a 10-0 run which consisted of two big plays by Becca Isaac and ended with Kaitlyn Hoff finishing an and-one play to give the Falcons a 19-8 lead with 2:19 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter of play, Messiah continued to build upon their lead. Their largest advantage of the quarter came after Maci Thornton knocked down a three and then the very next possession Thornton found Jen Fairbanks down low for an easy layup to give Messiah a 21-point lead (37-16). With two minutes remaining, the Knights attempted to cut into the Falcons' lead with back-to-back layups, but Messiah was able to respond and finish the quarter with a 44 to 27 advantage. Maci Thornton led Messiah in scoring in the first half with 11 points.

In the final two quarters of play, Messiah outscored Arcadia 43 to 29 to end the game with an 87-56 win. Messiah's largest lead of the night came at the 1:31 mark in the fourth quarter when Haley Maraday found Hannah Brown spotting up for a three and she gave Messiah a 34-point lead. Messiah's outstanding offensive performance came from great ball movement and unselfish play. As a team Messiah collected 22 assists, this is the second most they have collected all season. The Falcons collected 23 assists against Lancaster Bible on December 1st.

Impressive Defensive Effort
The Falcons held the Knights to 15 points or less in each quarter of play. Messiah's disciplined and aggressive defense also caused 23 turnovers which directly led to 26 points. 11 of those points off turnovers came in the second quarter alone. The Falcons also took care of the offensive and defensive rebounds and collected 40 on the evening. As mentioned earlier, Leah Springer grabbed 13 boards for Messiah and Alecia Rohrer added nine.

Arcadia shot 22 of 56 (39.3%) from the field, only one of eight (12.5%) from three-point range and 11 of 22 from the free-throw line. The Knighs average 55.5 points per game which made their performance against the Falcons an average one, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with the Falcons.

Words From Coach Miller
Head coach Mike Miller was very impressed with his team's effort and was proud of their ability to make adjustments mid-game.

"I really love this team, they are extremely coachable and allow for in game adjustments. They realize the initial plan may not work and they are willing to do whatever it takes to win." 

Miller was also pleased to see his team take care of the ball and make good decisions offensively.

"Our offense is really coming along, we are trying to put stuff in that you can't scout. The ball movement is great and the extra passes are paying off. We collected 22 assists on 32 buckets tonight, which is outstanding."

Up Next
Messiah will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 9th when the host Alvernia University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the men's game will follow.