READING, Pa. - In a rematch of the last three MAC Commonwealth Championship Games, the No. 8 Messiah women's basketball team earned a 66-44 victory over the Albright Lions to improve to 11-1 on the season. The Falcons improve their conference record to 5-0, heading to the Christmas Break.
 
Maci Thornton led all scorers in the game with 20 points on a solid 8-15 effort from the floor. Eleana Eckley finished with a career-high 17 points and was the only other Falcon in double-digits. Alecia Rohrer grabbed 13 rebounds in the contest while dropping eight points.
 
The Falcons will now take off for two weeks for Christmas Break. Messiah will be back in action on Dec. 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. when they take on Kenyon College.
 
Early Battle
After trading buckets in the opening 90 seconds, Messiah took a 4-2 lead off a jumper from Maci Thornton. Following the jumper, the Falcons would hold the lead for the remainder of the game, but Albright hung tough over the first eight minutes of the contest. With 3:21 remaining in the first quarter, Eleana Eckley connected a jumper and Messiah held a 13-7 advantage.
 
The Lions responded with a pair of buckets on the next two possessions to pull within two at 13-11, but Messiah scored the final five points of the quarter to take an 18-11 lead into the second quarter.
 
Pulling Away
The Falcons used a strong team effort in the second quarter to pull away from the Lions. Albright scored the first points of the quarter on a jumper from Lauren Killion, but Messiah ended the period on a 16-6 run to take a 34-19 lead at the break. During the quarter, Messiah had four different players score four points each to increase their lead. Eckley, Rohrer, Thorton, and Kristen Smoluk each collected four points as the Falcons shot 6-12 from the field in the quarter.
 
After the half, Messiah continued to pull away, outscoring the Lions 18-11 in the third quarter to take a 22-point lead at 52-30 heading to the final period. Like the second quarter, Messiah shot 50.0% from the field with an 8-16 mark while holding the Lions to just a 4-15 effort from the floor.
 
Thornton led Messiah with seven points in the quarter, while Smoluk (four points), Brooke Breinich (three), Megan Zimmerman (two), and Rohrer (two) also found the bottom of the cup in the period.
 
Closing Out Their 11th-Straight
Despite struggling from the field in the final 10 minutes, Messiah went 7-8 from the free throw line to earn the 66-44 victory over Albright. Eleana Eckley made five free throws and knocked down a late three to lead Messiah with eight points in the quarter.
 
With the win, Messiah earns their 11th-straight victory of the season, moving to 11-1 overall and 5-0 in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
In the Box Score
- Saturday's game was tied for 1:32 in the opening two minutes of the contest, but after that it was all Messiah. The Falcons held a lead for 38:28 of the 40 minutes of the game.
- Late in the contest, Madison Eich collected her first career points with a jumper in the final minute of play.
- Messiah finished the game with 12 steals in the contest while forcing 19 turnovers by the Lions. The Falcons committed just seven turnovers in the game.
- Eleana Eckley scored a career-high 17 points on Saturday afternoon. Her previous high was 11 points at Alvernia on Dec. 8.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will take two weeks off from intercollegiate competition and will next take the floor on Sunday, Dec. 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. against Kenyon College.