Chester, PA – (No. 16 WBCA, No. 19 D3Hoops) Messiah women's basketball team picked up another conference-road win at Widener University on Wednesday evening. The Falcons dominated the Pride in a score of 83-50 and Messiah moved to 21-1 overall and 12-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.

The Falcons had four players in double figures and 10 players who contributed on the scoreboard. Alecia Rohrer collected her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Kaitlyn Hoff finished with 15 points and five assists, while Maci Thornton also added 15 points and gathered four steals. Leah Springer had a career-high game and scored 13 points for the Falcons.

The Falcons shot an incredible 31 of 61 (50.8%) from the field, 10 of 18 from the three point arc (55.6%), and 11 of 15 (73.3%) from the free throw line. The Pride 20 of 56 (35.7%) from the field, 6 of 24 (25%) from behind the arc, and 4 of 6 (66.7%) from the line.

The Falcons dominated and led the entire game, but they specifically had an outstanding offensive showing in the second half. In the third and fourth quarters combined, Messiah shot 17 of 29 (58.6 %) from the field and six of 10 (60%) from three point range and 100% (6-6) from the free throw line. Messiah outscored (46-23) and out rebounded (20-14) Widener in the second half of play.

In the first quarter of play, Messiah showed discipline and control on the offensive end. They displayed patience with their ball movement and really picked apart Widener's zone defense.  Messiah started the game with a layup by Jocelyn Chavous and then a minute and a half later Maci Thornton knocked down a three-pointer to spark the Falcons' offense. Gillian Glackin added to the Falcons' scoring when she knocked down a short jumper off of Kaitlyn Hoff's pass, this gave Messiah a 7-0 lead over Widener. The Pride began to make a dent into Messiah's lead after a couple trips to the free throw line, which made the score 7-4 with five minutes remaining in the quarter. Messiah then went on a 10-5 run and ended up finishing the first quarter with a 19-12 advantage over the Pride.

Leah Springer ignited Messiah's offense at the start of the second quarter, she completed a three-point play after getting fouled and finishing the layup, which extended the Falcons lead to seven. The very next possession, Alecia Rohrer hit a jumper to give the Falcons a 24-15 point lead, but the Pride began to step up their game offensively. Widener started to beat Messiah off the dribble and get inside where they were able to finish their lay-ups and get to the line, they eventually brought Messiah's lead down to only five points (25-20). However, in back-to-back possessions for the Falcons, Hoff and Thorton connected from deep and brought Messiah's advantage up to 31-20.  Messiah headed into halftime with a comfortable 10 point lead over Widener, 37-27.

As mentioned earlier, the second half was when Messiah really found their rhythm and were able to have multiple players be an offensive presence on the court. The Falcons started the third quarter with back-to-back lay-ups by Hoff and Glackin followed by two successful free-throws by Hoff to extend Messiah's lead to 16 points. Midway through the quarter, the Pride brought Messiah's lead down to 11 after going on a 5-0 run, but then Hoff and Rohrer each made their way to the charity stripe and were successful on all four attempts. Leah Springer hit a big three pointer with one minute remaining in the third quarter which sparked the energy on Messiah's bench. 40 seconds after Springer's three point bucket, Hannah Brown came off the bench and cashed in her own to give the Falcons a 64-39 lead going into the final quarter of play. The Falcons started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run over Widener and connected three of their 10 three point shots in the final quarter of play. Messiah cruised to a 83-50 point victory over the Pride; this is the ninth contest where the Falcons have defeated their opponent by scoring 80 or more points.

Although Messiah's obvious strength was offense in their victory over the Pride, the Falcons also did a great job on the defensive end. The Falcons collected 14 steals, in which Thornton had four and Glackin and Fairbanks each added two, and caused the Pride to turn the ball over 21 times. Messiah also collected 20 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards.

Nikki Petri was the top scorer for Widener with 19 points and Allison Gallagher, who was 2 of 4 from three-point range, added 10 points. The Pride moved to 6-16 overall and 3-10 in the conference.

Messiah is back in action on Feb. 11 when they take on Lebanon Valley College inside of Brubaker Auditorium.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and the men's team will follow at 5:00 p.m.