GRANTHAM, Pa. – No. 19 Messiah College women's basketball team picked up their 18th win of the season after they defeated Stevenson University, 80-67 on Wednesday evening. With the victory over the Mustangs, Messiah moved to 18-2 and 10-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.

The Falcons shot an impressive 50% (35-of-70) from the field and 72.7% (8-of-11) from the free-throw line. However, Messiah was only 2-of-7 (28.6%) from three-point range. As a team, Messiah had an impressive defensive showing in which they picked up nine steals, six blocks, and caused 23 Mustang turnovers.

Maci Thornton and Alecia Rohrer led all scorers with 18 points apiece. Rohrer also collected 10 rebounds while Thornton had five assists and three steals. Kaitlyn Hoff added 15 points and Leah Springer had 12 points and grabbed nine boards. Kristen Smoluk contributed seven points, five assists, and three steals for the Falcons.

Flat Start
Messiah started off flat and only scored six points in the first five minutes of play. Stevenson started to gain some moment and took an 11-to-8 lead after scoring back-to-back baskets. Leah Springer stepped up and produced back-to-back buckets of her own to cut the Mustangs' lead to one point.  With 2:20 remaining in the quarter, Becca Isaac hit a big three to take Messiah's first lead of the game (15-13).

Solid Second Quarter
Messiah carried the momentum they generated at the end of the first quarter into the second. The Falcons started off on an 8-3 run, forcing the Mustangs to call an early time-out. Jen Fairbanks came out of the time-out with a big three pointer to extend Messiah's lead to 26-15. The Falcons continued to build upon their lead and went on an 8-to-0 run to close out the quarter. Kaitlyn Hoff collected four of those eight points in less than three minutes of play. Maci Thornton led all scorers going into half-time with 10 points and Messiah had a comfortable 17 point (39-22) advantage at the break.

Messiah's defense was very impressive in the second quarter. They held the Mustangs to only nine points and caused eight turnovers. The Falcons were able to score 13 points off of Stevenson's second-quarter turnovers. 

Mustangs Gain Momentum
Stevenson came out of the half-time break hungry to score; and that they did. The Mustangs outscored the Falcons 29-20 in the third quarter. Both teams started the quarter strong and exchanged baskets back-and-forth. At the 3:46 mark, the Mustangs gained traction and took off on a 12-to-4 run. Stevenson cut Messiah's lead down to 8 points (59-51) going into the final minute of play.

Falcons Fly in the Fourth
The Mustangs continued to chip away at Messiah's lead and brought it down to 63-58 in the first two and a half minutes of play. With 3:09 left in the game, Messiah hit a turning point and they went on a 6-to-0 run to start pulling away from Stevenson. Leah Springer started things off with a lay-up off of Maci Thornton's delivery and then Becca Isaac knocked down a jumper. Kaitlyn Hoff finished the run by pulling up in the paint and scoring to give the Falcons a 77-64 lead. Hannah Krist responded for the Mustangs by draining a three, but it wouldn't be enough. Kaitlyn Hoff took two trips to the free-throw line and led her team to an 80-67 victory.

Alecia Rohrer had an outstanding second-half performance in which she scored 12 of her 18 points. Hoff also collected nine of her 15 in the second-half as well.

Up Next
Messiah will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 3 when they travel to Alvernia University. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.