GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's basketball team gutted out a 61-47 victory over the visiting Hood Blazers on Wednesday night. Six minutes and 51 seconds into the first-quarter, Alecia Rohrer became the 22nd member of the Messiah women's basketball 1,000-point club with a jumper. She led the Falcons with her seventh double-double collecting a game-high in both points (24) and rebounds (14).
 
The Falcons move to 8-1 overall on the season and 2-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Blazers fell to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

In the Box
As previously mentioned, Alecia Rohrer led Messiah with 24 points and 14 rebounds, collecting her seventh double-double this season. Maci Thornton was the only other Falcon in double-figures, she collected 16 points and four steals. Eleana Eckley added nine points off the bench for the Falcons and was second on the team in rebounds with six.

Overall, Messiah shot 37.3% (25-of-67) from the field, 63.6% (7-of-11) from the free throw line and 23.5% (4-of-17) from deep range. Hood was 32.7% (18-of-55) from the field, 23.8% (5-of-21) from three-point range and 6 of 12 from the line. The Blazers slightly out-rebounded the Falcons 44-40, however Messiah did a good job taking care of the basketball and only had 12 turnovers compared to the Blazers' 20. Messiah was able to collect 18 points off of Hood's turnovers, 10 of which were in the first quarter of play.

How it happened
The Falcons opened with a quick start and took an early eight-point lead (10-2) over the Blazers. Haley Maraday started things off with a steal and a fast break layup, followed by six-consecutive points from Maci Thornton and a layup from Alecia Rohrer to put Messiah on top. Hood pieced together a four-point run to come within four points of the lead, however Messiah jumped to a 6-to-2 run to pull ahead 16-8. The Blazers hit a jumper late in the quarter but the Falcons continued to hold a six-point lead heading into the second quarter. As previously mentioned, Alecia Rohrer picked up her 1,000 point with 3:09 left in the first quarter to become the 22nd Falcon to reach that milestone.

The second quarter action began with a lot of back-and-forth play from both squads. Hood opened with the first bucket, however Trinity Sumrall answered with a three-pointer to put the Falcons back up seven points. Messiah held an eight-point lead midway in the quarter after Alecia Rohrer connected in the paint, but Hood slowly began to chip away at the Falcons' advantage. At the 2:41 minute mark Deaja Colden scored a layup to bring the Blazers within two points of the Falcons' lead (25-23). Messiah finished out the quarter on a 9-to-2 run which included two three-point field goals from Maci Thornton to go into the halftime break with a 34-25 lead.

Messiah came out of halftime sluggish and struggled to connect offensively. They only collected seven points in the duration of the quarter and shot 20.0% (3-of-15) from the field. After an early basket from Alecia Rohrer, the Blazers took off and scored six-straight points to bring the score down to 36-31. Maci Thornton ended this run with a fast break layup assisted by Eleana Eckley to put Messiah back up seven points. The two teams exchanged baskets late in the quarter and Messiah held on to a 41-36 lead going into the fourth and final quarter.

The Falcons found their groove offensively and outscored the Blazers 20-to-11 in the last 10 minutes of play. Messiah also shot a much higher percentage (52.9%) from the field in the final quarter. Hood made two free throw attempts early in the quarter to make it a one-possession basketball game (41-38). The score hadn't been this close since the 2:41 minute mark in the second quarter. Alecia Rohrer got things going for Messiah with a jumper and Eleana Eckley collected her sixth point of the game on a fast break layup. Trinity Sumrall and Rohrer continue the scoring spree with back-to-back baskets to complete the eight-point run which gave Messiah a comfortable 49-38 lead midway through the quarter. The Blazers stuck around and brought the Falcons' lead back down to four (51-47) after a steal and a quick layup. However, Messiah was able to finish the game with an 8-to-0 scoring extravaganza to gain a 61-47 victory over Hood and to pick up their eighth-straight win.

Next Up
Messiah will next take the floor on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Alvernia at 1:00 p.m. Messiah will be on the road for their next six games and will return to Jordan Court in the New Year.