GRANTHAM, Pa - The Messiah College women's basketball team defeated the Wolverines from Wesley College 64-40 on Friday evening. The Falcons will move on to play St. Vincent in the Hampton Inn Tip-Off Championship on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Maci Thornton led her team in scoring with 22 points and collected three steals, while Alecia Rohrer collected her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Messiah moves to 3-1 overall, while Wesley drops to 0-2.

How it Happened
Wesley jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead over the Falcons as Messiah struggled to connect early in the quarter. However, a steal and fast break layup from Maci Thornton ignited the Falcons' offense and they scored six consecutive points to take an 8-7 lead. The Wolverines answered with a six-to-two run, but Alecia Rohrer and Maci Thornton finished the quarter with back-to-back baskets to give Messiah a 14-13 advantage.
 
Messiah's defense was outstanding in the second quarter of play, holding the Wolverines to only three points. The Falcons opened with back-to-back three pointers from Becca Isaac and Maci Thornton which led Messiah to a nine-point run in the first five minutes of play. The Wolverines scored their first basket of the second quarter at the 4:39 minute mark when Shelby Johnson laid the ball off the glass. Maci Thornton knocked in two free-throws at the end of the quarter to give Messiah a 27-16 lead heading into the halftime break.
 
The Wolverines came out hot at the start of the third quarter. They took off on an early 7-0 run and cut the Falcons' lead down to four points (27-23). Messiah responded on a 16-to-2 scoring spree in which Maci Thornton scored 11 of those 16 points. Wesley closed out the quarter with a three-pointer to bring Messiah's lead down to 43-28 going into the final quarter of play.
 
The fourth quarter was the Falcons best offensive quarter in which they outscored Wesley 21-12 and shot 46.7% from the field (7-of-15). Messiah and Wesley battled back and forth at the start of the quarter, but then the Falcons launched off to an 11-0 run to pull ahead 57-32. Midway through the quarter the Wolverines found some chemistry offensively and traded baskets with Messiah, however Brooke Breinich knocked in two free-throws at the end of the game to secure a 24-point victory (64-40) over the Wolverines.
 
In the Box
The Falcons shot 36.2% from the field (21-of-58), 28% (7-of-25) from the three-point line, and were a steady 83.3% (15-of18) from the free throw line. The Wolverines struggled connecting from the field (29.6%) and were 16.7% from deep range. As previously mentioned, Maci Thornton led the way with 22 points and Alecia Rohrer added 17. Becca Isaac contributed eight points, while Kristen Smoluk and Eleana Eckley each scored five. Alecia Rohrer dominated the glass and grabbed a season-high of 15 rebounds and collected four blocks. The Falcons bench contributed 12 points, all in the second half, and Messiah was able to score 15 points off of Wesley's turnovers.
 
Next Up
Wesley and Lancaster Bible will face-off in the consolation game tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena. Following the consolation game, Messiah will take on St. Vincent in the championship at 3:00 p.m.