GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 25 Messiah women's basketball team allows just 23 points on Wednesday night as they cruised to a 58-23 victory over the Lycoming Warriors. Four Falcons scored in double digits as Megan Zimmerman and Jayneisha Davis led Messiah with 13 points each while Leah Springer and Brooke Breinich each added 10.
 
Lycoming's 23 points are the fewest for a Messiah opponent since Alvernia was held to just 21 points on Feb. 3, 2018.
 
Messiah held the Warriors to just a 19.6% effort from the field (10-51) while allowing no more than seven points in an individual quarter. The Falcons' defensive crew out-rebounded Lycoming 49-38, picked up 15 steals, four blocks and caused 25 Warrior turnovers. Messiah was able to collect 18 points off of Lycoming's turnovers.

Hot Start 
Leah Springer opened the game up with back-to-back buckets to give the Falcons an early 4-0 lead. The Warriors picked up their opening basket at the 6:08 minute mark (4-2), however Messiah pieced together six-straight points, including two layups from Jayneisha Davis and another jumper from Springer to take an eight-point lead (10-2). Despite Lycoming closing out the quarter on a 4-to-1 run, the Falcons still had the upper hand (11-6) going into the second quarter. Messiah's aggressive defensive play allowed them to score seven of their first quarter points off of Lycoming's turnovers.

Falcons Cool Off
The second quarter was very sluggish for both squads, with Messiah just outscoring Lycoming 8-7. The Warriors started the quarter bringing the Falcon lead down to just two points (11-9), nonetheless Messiah went on a 6-to-2 run to pull ahead 17-11. The Falcons held a 19-13 lead going into the halftime break after a pair of free throws from Eleana Eckley.

Messiah Finds Their Momentum
Messiah began to find their mojo in the third quarter and it was by far their best offensive showing of the night. The Falcons were 7-for-12 (58.3%) from the field in the third quarter and scored 21 points. Messiah's defensive effort was top notch the entire game, including the third quarter where they held the Warriors to just four points.

The quarter started with an early bucket from Lycoming (19-15) and then Messiah went on a 13-0 run to pull ahead 32-15 in the middle of the quarter. Megan Zimmerman, Jayneisha Davis, Eleana Eckley, and Brooke Breinich all contributed on the scoreboard during this 13-point spurt. The Warriors scored their second basket of the quarter at the 3:20 mark and the Falcons closed out the quarter with eight-straight points to take a 40-17 lead going into the final quarter.

Falcons Soar Over Warriors
The Falcons maintained their momentum and took care of business in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Warriors 18-6. Messiah opened the final quarter on a 9-to-1 run to build their lead up to 31-points (49-18). The two squads then exchanged points back-and-forth, yet Messiah closed out the game on a 7-to-2 scoring spree to defeat the Warriors 58-23. This was Messiah's sixth-straight win and they moved to 15-4 overall and 9-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Arcadia Knights at 5:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.