GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 8 Messiah women's basketball team trailed the Widener Pride by five points heading into the fourth-quarter, but the Falcons outscored the Pride 17-7 in the final 10 minutes to earn a 65-60 victory at home on Monday night. Maci Thornton led all scorers with 25 points, including 19 first-half points.
 
Kristen Smoluk finished with 13 points and a crucial and-one layup in the final seconds to seal the Falcons' 17th-straight victory.
 
Alecia Rohrer collected her 13th double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Through 18 games, she is averaging an impressive 16.2 points and 13.3 rebounds per game this season.
 
Thornton Carries Messiah Through Physical Half
Messiah and Widener traded blows in the opening half of Monday night's game both literally and figuratively. The two sides combined for a total of 24 first-half fouls and held leads of at least four points on multiple occasions, but neither could take control. Messiah looked to have opened up a bit of a cushion late in the second quarter with a six-point lead after a layup by Grace Cryan with 1:47 left in the half, but the Pride netted back-to-back layups to end the half and Messiah took just a 38-36 advantage into the break.
 
That lead could have easily gone the other way if Maci Thornton had not turned in one of her better halves of the season. The senior guard went 6-8 from the floor, including a 3-4 mark from beyond the arc, for 19 points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
 
Widener Takes the Lead
Thornton continued her strong game with a three to open the third-quarter, but the Pride finished the quarter on a 17-7 run to take a five-point lead into the final period. Both teams struggled from the field in the third-quarter, with the Falcons shooting just 21.1% in the period (4-19) and the Pride going just 5-15 (33.3%).
 
Despite the lackluster shooting performance from both sides, it was Widener that held a 53-48 advantage heading to the fourth.
 
Fourth-Quarter Comeback
Messiah quickly leveled the score with a 6-1 run in the first 2:18 of the quarter. Kristen Smoluk and Becca Isaac accounted for the points with Smoluk picking up a pair of layups. It was another Smoluk layup midway through the quarter that gave Messiah the lead back at 58-56.
 
That lead was extended to 60-56 with 4:11 remaining thanks to free throws from Eleana Eckley and Maci Thornton. Widener responded with consecutive layups from Erin Phelan and Kyra Schenk to tie the game just a minute later.
 
Smoluk knocked down a pair of free throws with just under two minutes remaining to give Messiah a two-point lead. Two possessions later, Eleana Eckley grabbed an errant pass with just 36 seconds remaining to give Messiah the ball back. With the shot clock winding down, it was Smoluk that drove down the left-side, absorbing contact and finishing the layup to put Messiah up four. She went to the line and completed the old-fashioned, three-point play to give Messiah a 65-60 lead with just seconds left on the clock.
 
Widener was unable to get a quality look off at the buzzer and Messiah earned the five-point victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah has now won 17-straight games and are currently undefeated in the MAC Commonwealth with a 9-0 record. The Falcons will next take the floor on Wednesday night when they travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers at 6:00 p.m. Messiah defeated the Blazers earlier this season with a 61-47 victory on Dec. 5 on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.