GETTYSBURG, Pa. – No. 11 Messiah College women's basketball team traveled down to no. 19 Gettysburg for a top-20 match up on Tuesday evening. Maci Thornton scored a career-high of 27 points to lead the Falcons to a 74-69 victory over the Bullets.
 
Messiah trailed most of the game, but after a big fourth quarter performance, outscoring Gettysburg 30-19, the Falcons were able to secure another win and move to 2-1 overall. Messiah shot 40.7% from the field (24-of-59), 66.7% (6-of-9) from three-point range, and 80% (20-of-25) from the free-throw line. As previously mentioned, Maci Thornton led Messiah with 27 points; shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Kristen Smoluk added ten points, while Alecia Rohrer and Megan Zimmerman each contributed eight.

Falcons Start Strong, Bullets Battle Back
The Falcons started the game with a strong and aggressive defense and were able to contain their opponents early. They also caused 12 turnovers in the first two quarters. Offensively, Maci Thornton got things started right away with a quick lay-up followed by a baseline triple to give Messiah a 5-2 lead. This ignited Messiah on a 6-0 scoring run in which Megan Zimmerman, Maci Thornton, and Kristen Smoluk all contributed at the rim.

The Bullets began to find some success offensively midway through the quarter and started applying more defensive pressure on the Falcon guards. Gettysburg pieced together a 9-to-2 run and tied the game at 13-13. Both teams exchanged baskets late in the quarter and finished the first quarter 15-15.
 
Gettysburg started the second quarter where they left off in the first and sprinted out to a 9-to-4 run over the Falcons. However, Megan Zimmerman brought Messiah within two points of the lead (25-23) after knocking down a pair of free-throws and hitting a jumper as the shot clock was about to expire. Gettysburg once again responded and went on a 7-to-2 run to pull ahead 32-25. At the end of the quarter, Maci Thornton connected on a three-pointer to narrow the margin to 32-28 going into the break.

The Falcons shot 39.3% (11-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes of play, while the Bullets shot 44.4% (12-of-27) from the field. Messiah was 2-of-3 from three-point range and perfect (4-of-4) from the free-throw line going into the third quarter.
 
Falcons Finish in the Fourth
The third quarter consisted of back-and-forth action and Gettysburg outscored Messiah 18-16 and held a 50-44 advantage going into the fourth quarter. The Falcons had their work cut out for them and they hadn't led on the scoreboard since the 1:54 mark in the first quarter (13-11).
 
The Bullets opened the fourth quarter with four-straight points to take a ten point lead over the Falcons. Messiah hung around and slowly began to chip away at the lead, but Gettysburg did a good job answering and holding onto their lead. The turning point was at the 4:21 mark when Kristen Smoluk knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Bullet's lead to four points. The very next possession, Smoluk took a trip to the free-throw line and knocked in the first, but missed the second. However, the Falcons regained possession after an offensive rebound and Eleana Eckley scored a layup to bring Messiah within one-point of the lead (61-60) with just under four minutes left in the game. Gettysburg countered with a layup of their own to extend the lead to three, but the very next possession Alecia Rohrer collected an offensive rebound and put it right back up to once again bring the lead down to one point. Gettysburg called a quick timeout, set up a play, and hit a clutch three-pointer (66-62) to regain a four-point lead, however Eleana Eckley spotted up for a three of her own to keep Messiah in the game (66-65). The teams continued to battle and Maci Thornton tied the game at 68-68 after hitting a triple with less than a minute to play. The very next possession, Alecia Rohrer put the ball in the hoop to give the Falcons their first lead since the first quarter. With 20 seconds left on the clock, the Bullets ended up having to foul Messiah to look for an opportunity to stay in the game, but Maci Thornton was perfect from the stripe and led the Falcons to a big 74-69 victory.
 
Next Up
Messiah will be back on Jordan Court this weekend when they host the Hampton Inn Tip-Off Classic. On Friday Nov. 16, St. Vincent and Lancaster Bible will play at 5:30 p.m. and Messiah will take on Wesley College at 7:30 p.m. The consolation game will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17 with the championship game to follow at 3:00 p.m.