YORK, Pa. – The Messiah College women's basketball team collected their seventh win on Saturday afternoon after they defeated York College 54-36. Messiah outscored the Spartans 30-19 in the first two quarters and continued their scoring ways into second half, trouncing York 13-0 in the third quarter. The Falcons improved to 7-1 on the season with their non-conference win over the Spartans.

Jayneisha Davis led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds, while Grace Cryan collected a career-high of 10 points. Eleana Eckley and Brooke Breinich also had impressive performances with nine and seven points, respectively. Leah Springer had a dominant performance on the glass, collecting 15 total rebounds.

Composed Start
Both teams started the game pushing the tempo offensively and playing sound defense. The action was back-and-forth early and the score was tied at 6-6. Messiah then pieced together a 4-0 run to pull ahead 10-6 midway through the quarter. However, York responded to close the gap to two points. The Falcons were steady from the free throw line, shooting 8-for-8 in the first 10 minutes of play, and closed the quarter out with a 14-10 advantage.

Messiah Finds Their Groove
York started the second quarter with a quick basket, but Messiah quickly regained control of the game. Eleana Eckley ignited the Falcons' offense on an 11-point run throughout the majority of the second quarter. After Eckley's initial basket, Jayneisha Davis connected on a layup followed by a three-pointer from Brooke Breinich. Grace Cryan took a trip to the line for Messiah to finish the scoring spree and to put Messiah ahead 25-12. The Spartans began to chip away at the Falcons' lead and went on a seven-point run of their own. However, Davis scored on back-to-back possessions for Messiah to end the Spartan's spurt and to give the Falcons an 11 point lead (30-19) going into the halftime break.
Jayneisha Davis led all scorers with 11 points in the first two quarters, while Leah Springer grabbed 10 rebounds. As a team, Messiah outrebounded the Spartans 25-18 and collected five steals. The Falcons were a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes of play.

Falcons Hold Spartans Scoreless
Messiah came out of the halftime break strong and ready to work on both ends of the court. Defensively, the Falcons held the Spartans scoreless in the entire third quarter and swatted three blocks and grabbed three steals. Offensively, Messiah scored 13 points in which Jayneisha Davis collected five.

Falcons Secure Victory
Messiah continued to dominate offensively at the start of the fourth after picking up two early buckets to take a 26 point lead over the Spartans (45-19). York ended their 13-minute scoring drought with an and-one from Kayla Ferris which put a stop to 22-straight points from the Falcons. Messiah however responded on a four-point spurt with back-to-back layups from Grace Cryan and Jayneisha Davis. The Spartans found some momentum late in the fourth and closed out the game on a 14-5 run outscoring Messiah 17-11. However, the Falcons held on for a 54-36 victory, their seventh on the season.

Inside The Box Score
As previously mentioned, Jayneisha Davis led all scorers with 18 points and collected six rebounds and four steals. Grace Cryan contributed a career-high of 10 points, six of which came from the free throw line. As a team, Messiah outrebounded the Spartans 45-40 and had ten steals and six blocks.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will return to MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday, Dec. 11 when they travel to Lycoming College for an 8:00 p.m. start. The last time these two teams met was on Feb. 23, 2019 and the Falcons defeated the Warriors 53-46.