ANNVILLE, Pa. – The No. 18 Messiah women's basketball team earned a road victory at Lebanon Valley College, 60-32, on Saturday afternoon. Leah Springer led all scorers with 22 points as Eleana Eckley dished out a game-high eight assists. The Falcons used eight different offensive contributors in the victory, including nine points from Amber High and six points from Morgan Adams and Sidney Stutzman.
 
Messiah shot an impressive 9-for-16 (56.3%) from beyond the arc, shooting 22-47 (46.8%) overall.
 
High notched the first bucket of the game for the Falcons, a three-pointer at the 8:39 mark to earn an early 3-2 lead. The two sides would not record a field goal for the following 2:52 of gameplay before Daelyn Stabler of Lebanon Valley scored her second-straight basket, a layup to give the Dutchmen a one-point advantage (4-3). Stutzman answered with a triple in the following possession. The three-pointer was assisted by Madison Eich as Messiah reclaimed the lead, 6-4, with 5:50 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
The Falcons outscored Lebanon Valley in the final five minutes of play, 9-4, to own a 15-8 advantage heading into the second quarter. Messiah had three different players connect from beyond the arc as Leah Springer drained a three-pointer at the 3:05 mark of the period.
 
Springer began the second quarter with a triple just 17 seconds into the quarter to extend the Messiah lead to ten points (18-8). The three-point field goal sparked an 8-0 scoring spurt for the Falcons. The run lasted just 2:15 and included Stutzman's second three-pointer of the contest. Following the scoring run, Messiah had a commanding 23-8 lead with 7:45 left in the first half.
 
Messiah shot an impressive 5-of-7 from the floor to take a comfortable 34-16 lead into the halftime break. The Falcons connected on half of their three-pointer attempts (6-12) in the half as Springer led all scorers with 14 points. Eckley had a productive first half as well, dishing out six assists while contributing a three-pointer.
 
Springer, after her great first half, opened the third quarter scoring with a layup to build Messiah's lead to 20 points (36-16). The Dutchmen's leading scorer, Stabler, answered with a layup of her own at the 7:32 mark, her ninth point of the contest. Stabler's bucket was the beginning of a 6-0 scoring run for Lebanon Valley that lasted for 1:55, trimming the hosts' deficit down to 12 points (36-24). Chloe Milanesi put a halt to the run, notching her first field goal of the game on a layup with 5:24 remaining in the third period of play. Milanesi contributed a pair of free throws in the final two minutes of the quarter as the Falcons entered the final quarter with a 42-26 lead.
 
In similar fashion to the third quarter, Springer notched the first bucket of the fourth quarter with a layup, her game-leading 20th point of the game. The Springer layup gave Messiah an 18-point advantage (44-26) with 8:50 remaining in the contest, as free throw from High at the 7:28 mark and another three-pointer from Eckley at the 6:53 mark built the Messiah lead to a comfortable 50-26 edge. The Falcons dominated the final 8:50 of the game, outscoring Lebanon Valley, 16-6. Messiah had six different players contribute points during that final span, including a triple from Reese Harden and a jumper from Haley Wagman.
 
The Falcons prevailed on the road by a score of 60-32, improving their overall record to 7-2 (3-1 MAC Commonwealth).
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons travel south to St. Petersburg, Fla., to take on Depauw University at Eckerd College on Sunday, Dec. 19, at 5:00 p.m.