READING, Pa. – The Messiah College women's basketball team picked up their fifth-straight victory after defeating the Alvernia University Golden Wolves on Saturday afternoon. Messiah had a dominant second quarter performance, which led them to a 72-45 victory. After a decent first quarter, the Falcons took off and outscored the Golden Wolves 24-7 to take a 40-17 advantage heading into the halftime break. Messiah was able to stay steady in the second half and claimed a 27-point win over Alvernia. With this performance, the Falcons moved to 14-4 overall and 8-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.

Eleana Eckley had a career-high afternoon scoring 27 points, shooting 7-of-9 (77.8%) from three-point range and 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the field. Leah Springer and Megan Zimmerman each added 14 points for the Falcons, while Grace Cryan dished out six assists.

Messiah had a strong offensive and defensive showing in their victory over the Golden Wolves. They shot an impressive 44.6% (25-of-56) from the field, 55% (11-of-20) from three-point range, and 84.6% (11-of-13) from the stripe. Messiah also dished out 18 assists and collected 16 steals. The Falcons high intensity on defense caused Alvernia to turn the ball over 34 times.

Falcons and Golden Wolves Clash
Alvernia had an early 6-5 lead over the Falcons, but after a pair of free throws from Leah Springer the Falcons were back on top. These free throws triggered an 8-0 run for Messiah, including back-to-back buckets from Brooke Breinich and a pair of free throws from Madison Eich (13-6). The Golden Wolves scored on two consecutive possessions to bring the Falcons' lead down to three, but a three-pointer at the buzzer from Eleana Eckley gave Messiah a 16-10 lead going into the second.

Turning Point For Messiah
The two teams exchanged baskets at the start of the second quarter and Messiah held a seven-point lead (22-15) over the Golden Wolves. The turning point of the game, occurred at the 6:08 mark in the second quarter, when Messiah scored ten unanswered points, to pull ahead 32-15. Julia Ewen silenced the Falcons' run with a jumper, however Messiah wasn't done. Eleana Eckley finished the quarter with eight-straight points of her own, including back-to-back three-pointers and a pair of free throws to give her team a 40-17 advantage going into the break. Eleana Eckley led the Falcons with 17 points in the first two quarters, including five three-point field goals.    

Falcons Soar To Victory
Messiah continued to control the game in the last two quarters, outscoring the Golden Wolves 32-28, to hold on for a 72-45 win. Grace Cryan collected all six of her points in the third quarter, while Megan Zimmerman scored eight of her 14 total points in the fourth quarter.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will return to Jordan Court on Wednesday, Jan. 29 when they host Lycoming College at 8:00 p.m. The last time these two squads met was on Dec. 11 and Messiah defeated Lycoming 80-50.