ANNVILLE, Pa. – No. 8 Messiah College women's basketball secured another conference victory after they defeated Lebanon Valley College 75-58 on Wednesday evening. After a competitive first two quarters, the Falcons went into halftime with just a three point lead. However, Messiah outscored the Dutchmen 37-23 in the final two quarters to pick up a huge road win. The Falcons remain undefeated in the MAC Commonwealth (8-0) and move to 16-1 overall. The Dutchmen fell to 5-3 in the conference and 9-8 overall.

Alecia Rohrer finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds, she is now tied for second in the nation for double-doubles with 12 on the season. Maci Thornton had another dominant showing for the Falcons, she contributed 22 points and collected three steals. Eleana Eckley added nine points and three assists for Messiah, while Becca Isaac scored eight.

Hot Shooting
The first quarter was an evenly played one and both teams shot a high percentage from the field. Messiah was 57.1% (8-of-14) from the field, while LVC shot 54.5% (6-of-11). The Falcons jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead after they found success working the ball inside the paint. However, LVC started to hit some big shots, added full-court pressure, and took the lead after connecting on a pair of free-throws (12-11). Maci Thornton answered and regained the lead for Messiah after knocking down a deep two-pointer on the wing (13-12). Both teams exchanged baskets back-and-forth towards the end of the quarter and the Falcons went into the second quarter with an 18-17 lead.

Back-and-Forth Action
The second quarter was action packed and the lead changed ten different times. Alecia Rohrer started things off for the Falcons with a quick bucket, but the Dutchmen were right there to respond and pulled within one (20-19). This back-and-forth action continued throughout the quarter and the score was tied at 27-27 at the midway point. Eleana Eckley knocked down a deep three-point shot for Messiah to take back the lead, but once again LVC answered with a four-point run to pull ahead 31-30. At the end of the quarter, the Falcons pieced together six-consecutive points to gain a 38-33 advantage. However, the Dutchmen scored a last-second jumper to bring Messiah's lead down to three (38-35) going into the halftime break.

Both teams opened the game shooting well from the field. In the first half, Messiah shot 56.7% (17-of-30) from the field and 75.0% (3-of-4) from three-point range, while Lebanon Valley was 56.0% (14-of-25) from the field. Maci Thornton led all scorers with 14 points in the first half.

The Turning Point
The Falcons opened the third quarter scoring on back-to-back possession which caused the Dutchmen to take an early timeout. LVC came out of the timeout, found some momentum, and cut Messiah's lead down to three (44-41). Alecia Rohrer took matters into her own hand and completed an old fashioned three-point play at the line which extended Messiah's lead to six points. The Dutchmen went on a short 4-to-0 run to come within two points of the lead (47-45), but the Falcons launched off to an 8-to-0 run of their own which was the turning point in the game. Alecia Rohrer started this scoring run by connecting on two free-throw attempts, followed by Grace Cryan's lay-up. Maci Thornton closed out the quarter with back-to-back buckets to give Messiah a 10-point lead (55-45) going into the fourth and final quarter.

Falcons Hold On
LVC took 15 trips to the free-throw line in the final ten minutes of play due to Messiah's ten personal fouls and with 5:55 remaining they cut the lead down eight points. However, the Falcons were able to maintain a steady offense and outscored the Dutchmen 20-13. Becca Isaac collected six of her eight points in the final quarter and led her team to a 75-58 victory.

What's Up Next
Messiah will return to Jordan Court this Saturday to begin the second round of conference play. The Falcons will host Widener at 2:00 p.m. The two teams met on Nov. 28 and Messiah picked up a 69-66 victory. Maci Thornton led the way with 21 points and Widener's Devan Rimmer collected 19.