GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 6 Messiah women's basketball team trailed the Hilbert Hawks by three points at halftime, but rallied in the second half to claim a 71-60 victory in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons advance to face the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets, who claimed a thrilling, 73-71 come-from-behind victory over the RIT Tigers earlier on Friday evening.

Messiah's Maci Thornton and Alecia Rohrer led the way offensively with 16 points each. Both collected double-doubles, with Rohrer grabbing 14 boards and Thornton dishing out 10 assists. Becca Isaac added 14 points for the Falcons, while Megan Zimmerman finished with a career-high of 13. Hilbert's Ashley Repine led all scorers with 17 points and she collected a team-high 12 rebounds. 

Hawks Hot Start
Hilbert opened the game outscoring the Falcons 19-13 in the first quarter and shooting an impressive 50% (7-of-14) from the field. The Falcons had a four point lead (12-8) with 4:26 remaining in the first quarter, after a fast break layup from Alecia Rohrer, however the Hawks responded with a basket of their own to bring the lead down to just two points. Grace Cryan was successful from the free-throw line to put the Falcons back up three (13-10), but Hibert closed out the quarter on a 9-to-0 run to pull ahead 19-13. The Falcons struggled from the field in the first quarter, only shooting 26.67% (4-of-15), however they shot a steady 5-of-6 (83.3%) from the line. 

Messiah Comes Alive Late In Second Quarter
The two teams opened the quarter exchanging baskets back-and-forth and Maci Thornton drained a three early in the quarter to bring Hilbert's lead down to 21-18, but once again the Hawks responded. The Hawks took off in the middle of the quarter and led by as many as eight points (32-24) with two minutes remaining, but Messiah launched off on a 7-to-2 run of their own to close out the quarter. This run started with a three-point field goal from Kristen Smoluk and back-to-back layups from Alecia Rohrer. Messiah went into the halftime break trailing the Hawks 34-31.

Messiah shot a game-high 47.06% (8-of-17) from the field in the second quarter and went 2-of-2 from deep range. They would look to continue to build on this momentum in the second half.

Falcons Dominate Third Quarter
Megan Zimmerman got things going for Messiah with an early basket to bring Hilbert's advantage down to one (34-33). However, Ashley Repine responded for the Hawks with a layup inside. The very next possession, Maci Thornton drained a three to tie the game at 36-36, which was followed by another three-pointer from Becca Isaac to give Messiah their first lead since the first quarter. The Hawks answered with a quick bucket, however Becca Isaac was in a groove and knocked down another triple for the Falcons to bring their lead up to four (42-38). Hilbert continued to battle and eventually came within one-point of the lead (44-43) with 3:51 remaining in the quarter, but the Falcons flew on a 10-to-2 run to hold a 54-45 advantage going into the fourth and final quarter. Haley Maraday came off the bench and collected four of the Falcons' ten points during this scoring burst. Messiah outscored Hilbert 23-11 in the third quarter and this surge was the turning point for the Falcons.

Messiah Moves On
The fourth quarter started with some back-and-forth action, but at the 5:12 mark Messiah scored six-straight points to build their lead up to 17 points (68-51). Megan Zimmerman and Becca Isaac ignited this run with back-to-back baskets, while Maci Thornton finished it by collecting an old fashioned three-point play to collect her final points of the evening. Katelyn Proy ended the Falcons scoring spree with a layup, but Alecia Rohrer answered with a jumper to put Messiah back up 70-53. Megan Zimmerman extended that lead (71-53) by knocking down a free-throw with just under two minutes remaining. Hilbert finished the quarter with a seven-point run, however it wouldn't be enough and Messiah would claim the 71-60 victory.

Up Next
The Falcons move to 27-1 on the season with their win over the Hawks and will continue their post-season journey tomorrow evening in Hitchcock Arena. Messiah will take on a talented Baldwin Wallace team in the NCAA Second Round at 6:00 p.m. on Jordan Court. Baldwin Wallace won their First Round game (73-71) on a buzzer beater over the Tigers from RIT.