GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah College women's basketball team defeated the third-seeded Albright Lions on Saturday evening to claim their fourth-straight MAC Commonwealth Title. After a sluggish first quarter, the Falcons found their rhythm on both ends of the court and secured the 78-69 victory and the program's 13th Conference Title.

Leah Springer led all scorers with 27 points and was named the tournament MVP for her dominant play. Eleana Eckley scored 18, while Jayneisha Davis added 16 points and four steals.

Offensively, the Falcons shot 45% from the field (27-of-60) and 70% from three-point range (7-of-10). Messiah was steady on the defensive end, picking up nine steals and causing 19 Albright turnovers.

The Falcons will take a return trip to the NCAA tournament. The NCAA selection show will take place Monday, Mar. 2 at 2:30 p.m.

Falcons Trail Early
Albright jumped out to the races early and had a 13-2 lead over Messiah midway through the first quarter. Leah Springer and Jayneisha Davis connected on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead down to seven. However the Lions, continued to respond and pulled ahead 17-8. Grace Cryan ended the quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play, yet the Lions also took a trip to the free throw line to claim an 18-11 lead going into the second quarter.

The Falcons struggled to take care of the ball in the first 10 minutes, collecting half (6) of their total team turnovers. The Lions on the other hand hit three of their seven three-pointers in the first quarter and only turned the ball over twice.

Messiah Battles Back, Gains Upper Hand
Eleana Eckley opened the second quarter with four-straight points to cut the Lion's lead down to three (18-15). Albright answered and eventually built their advantage back up to seven points (24-17) after a 6-to-2 run by Albright's star, Dejah Terrell. The Falcons found some momentum and went on a 9-to-2 run of their own, to tie the game at 26-26. Leah Springer ignited the Falcons on this run after knocking down a jumper. Jayneisha Davis followed Springer with back-to-back layups, causing Albright to take a timeout. Eleana Eckley picked up a steal out of the timeout, and Springer drained a three to tie the game. The Lions ended Messiah's run with a layup, however the Falcons continued to push and scored six-straight points to take their first lead (32-28) of the game. The two teams continued to battle late in the quarter, exchanging points back-and-forth, and Messiah went into halftime with a two-point (34-32) lead over the Lions.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the second quarter of play, with Albright shooting 50% from the field and Messiah shooting 64.3%.

Late Surge Extends Falcons' Lead
The third quarter began with some back-and-forth action from both teams. Albright scored six unanswered points in the middle of the quarter to regain a 43-41 lead over Messiah. However, another three-pointer from Springer put the Falcons back on top. Messiah continued to build upon their lead after a jumper from Brooke Breinich and back-to-back buckets from Jayneisha Davis (51-45), yet the Lions connected on two free-throw attempts to bring the lead back down to four.

With less than a minute remaining in the quarter, Jayneisha Davis picked up a steal which led to a three-pointer from Eleana Eckely. The Lions had an opportunity to score with the clock running down but they missed the shot. Leah Springer ripped the defensive rebound, pushed the ball across half-court, and launched up a shot at the buzzer, nothing but net. This was Springer's third three-pointer of the game which gave Messiah a 57-47 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Lions Fight Early, Messiah Secures The Victory
Albright opened the final quarter on a 13-to-4 run to bring Messiah's advantage down to one point (61-60). The Falcons didn't let this offensive surge faze them and Messiah responded with six-straight points, including another three from Eckley, to pull ahead 67-60 with less than four minutes remaining.

The two teams battled back-and-forth and the Lions brought the lead down to five points (74-69) after a three-pointer. However, with the clock running down, Albright had to send Messiah to the free-throw line. The Falcons were steady and soared to a 78-69 victory over the Lions.

20th NCAA Appearance
The Falcons will now await their draw in the NCAA Tournament. This will be Messiah's 20th appearance to the big dance in program history. Last season, the Falcons made it to the Sweet 16 where they fell to Tufts University (55-41). As previously mentioned, the NCAA Selection Show will be Monday, Mar. 2 at 2:30 p.m. Continue to check GoMessiah.com for schedule updates.