GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 6 Messiah women's basketball team turned in their most complete effort of the season with a 70-43 victory over the visiting Lycoming Warriors on Wednesday night. Messiah held a 32-23 lead at the half before holding the Warriors to just 20 points after the break en route to their 22nd-straight victory.
 
Alecia Rohrer led the Falcons with another dominating double-double, dropping 22 points and collecting 13 rebounds, both game highs. It is Rohrer's 18th double-double of the season.
 
Becca Isaac (12 points), Eleana Eckley (11), and Maci Thornton (10) also netted double-digit points in the victory.
 
The Falcons are next in action when they host the Albright Lions at 2:00 p.m.
 
Tight First Quarter
Wednesday night's meeting between the Falcons and Warriors featured the top two teams in the MAC Commonwealth with Messiah entering the game at 13-0 in the conference and Lycoming with a 10-3 conference record. The opening quarter lived up to the billing with the two sides remaining close throughout. Messiah held a slim lead for a majority of the half, but the cushion never grew to more than five points.
 
A layup from Kristen Smoluk with 2:02 remaining in the quarter gave the Falcons a 13-11 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
Taking Control
The Warriors made a quick layup on the first possession of the second quarter to tie the game at 13-13, but Messiah began to create some separation with an 8-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a 21-13 lead.
 
The quick run was fueled by threes from Eleana Eckley and Becca Isaac along with a jumper from leading scorer, Alecia Rohrer.
 
The Warriors cut into the lead with the next four points, but Alecia Rohrer scored on three-straight possessions to give Messiah their only double-digit lead of the first-half at 27-17.
 
Creating Separation
Messiah held a 32-23 advantage at the half, but Becca Isaac started the third quarter with a three to give Messiah a 12-point lead less than a minute into the period. The Falcons never looked back after Isaac's three, leading by double-digits for the remainder of the game.
 
Lycoming was held to just six points in the third-quarter while the Falcons registered 19 points to take a 51-29 lead heading to the final period.
 
The Warriors' Akilah McFadden hit a three in transition to drop the Falcons' lead to under 20 points for the only time in the fourth quarter at 53-36 with 8:06 remaining in regulation, but Maci Thornton answered with a fast break layup, a steal on the inbounds pass, and a three on the next possession to boost the Messiah lead back to 20-plus.
 
The Falcons led by at least 20 points for the remaining seven minutes of play, winning by the 70-43 final. The winning margin was their largest lead of the night.
 
Another Rohrer Double-Double
With her 22-point, 18-rebound performance, Alecia Rohrer collected her Division III leading 18th double-double of the season. On the season, Rohrer is averaging an impressive 16.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game and now has seven-straight double-doubles.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will now host MAC Commonwealth rival Albright on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The Falcons defeated the Lions 66-44 in Reading before Christmas Break on Dec. 15. In that victory, Maci Thornton led the Falcons with 20 points and Eleana Eckley dropped a career-high 17 points.