SCRANTON, Pa. - No. 6 Messiah College women's basketball team's outstanding season came to an end on Friday evening. The Falcons fell to the No. 4 Jumbos from Tufts University 55-41 in the Sweet Sixteen. Messiah and Tufts battled throughout the first half and the Falcons went into halftime only trailing by four (26-22). However, the Jumbos had an impressive second half, outscoring Messiah 29-19 to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight.

This was only Messiah's second loss of the season, the Falcons came into the weekend winning 28-straight games. Maci Thornton led the Falcons with 20 points, while Alecia Rohrer collected 12 rebounds. Kristen Smoluk also added eight points for Messiah.

Solid First Half
The Falcons didn't waste any time getting comfortable on offense, although they did pick up six early fouls on the defensive end in the first ten minutes. Kristen Smoluk got things started for Messiah with a 15-foot jumper after Grace Cryan's steal. Tufts responded with a pair of free-throws and a three-pointer to take a 5-2 lead. Messiah then went on a 7-to-0 run to pull ahead 9-5. Alecia Rohrer got this run started with a layup off of Kristen Smoluk's feed and the very next possession Maci Thornton knocked in a three to regain the lead for the Falcons. Maci Thornton was in a zone and scored another bucket to put Messiah up 9-5 with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter. The Jumbos once again answered with two successful free-throw attempts to cut down the Falcons' lead, however Megan Zimmerman hit both her free-throws to bring Messiah back up 11-7. With just under three minutes remaining in the quarter, Tufts went on a six-point run to go up 13-11, but Maci Thornton knocked down a mid-range jumper with three seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 13-13.
 
The two teams traded baskets back-and-forth at the start of the second, but Haley Maraday put in a layup to give Messiah a 17-15 lead. The Jumbos stole the lead from Messiah after Cailin Harrington knocked in back-to-back three-pointers to put her team up 21-17. Becca Isaac answered with a three of her own, to bring Tufts' lead down to one (21-20), but once again Harrington swished a three-point field goal to put the Jumbos up 24-20 with less than three minutes remaining. Maci Thornton hit a jumper late in the quarter to bring the Falcons' within two points of the lead, however Tufts knocked in two free-throws and held a 26-22 advantage going into the halftime break.
 
Sluggish Third Quarter
The Falcons came out of halftime flat and struggled to find a rhythm offensively. Tufts outscored Messiah 17-8 in the third quarter and shot an impressive 46.2% (6-of-13). Megan Zimmerman started the quarter with an early bucket to bring Messiah within two points of the lead (26-24) however, the Jumbos went on a 10-to-2 run to pull ahead 36-26. Alecia Rohrer knocked in a jumper with 2:23 remaining to try to spark the Falcons' offense, but the Jumbos closed out the quarter on a 7-to-2 run to take 13-point lead going into the final quarter (43-30).
 
Falcons Fight But Fall To Jumbos
Messiah fought right until the end, but Tufts outscored the Falcons 12-11 in the final quarter to pick up a 55-41 victory and a ticket to the Elite Eight. Maci Thornton scored nine of Messiah's 11 points in the fourth going 3-of-5 from the field, 1-of-2 from deep range, and 2-of-2 at the line. Tufts will play the winner of the Scranton and Christopher Newport game in the Sectional Final with the winner going to the Final Four.
 
Incredible Season
Overall, the Falcons had an impressive season going 28-2 and remaining undefeated in conference play (16-0). With little depth and big shoes to fill after last season, Messiah proved to be a top team regionally and nationally. Seniors Alecia Rohrer, Becca Isaac, Haley Maraday, Kristen Smoluk, and Maci Thornton had standout careers for Messiah reaching the National Tournament three-straight years, and getting to the Sweet Sixteen the past two seasons. Alecia Rohrer and Maci Thornton were recognized as All-MAC Commonwealth First Team this season, while Rohrer was also named Player of the Year. Both of these players had phenomenal senior seasons, each hitting 1,000 point milestones and leading the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the 19th time in program history.