ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The Messiah women's basketball team clawed their way to a 60-53 victory over the Eastern Eagles on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons trailed by one at 16-15 at the end of the first quarter, but a strong second quarter gave Messiah a 31-24 lead at the half. That advantage grew to as many as nine points in the third quarter, but Eastern pulled within three at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Falcons held off the late Eastern push to claim the seven-point victory to move to 6-1 on the season and 2-0 in the MAC Commonwealth this season.
 
Leading the Falcons offensively was Megan Zimmerman and Morgan Adams, who both scored 13 points. Eight different Falcons scored in the team victory. Morgan Adams grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in addition to her 13 points while Elana Eckley also nearly completed a double-double with 11 points and eight assists.
 
Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the York Spartans at 6:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
 
Back-and-Forth First
Four minute into the contest, it look like the Falcons were going to roll their way through the Eastern Eagles. Messiah held an 8-2 lead over the Eagles while forcing five Eastern turnovers. However, Eastern responded later in the quarter with an 11-4 run that gave them a slim 16-15 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play. A three from Eastern's Kayla Jefferson ended the quarter with the Eagles in the lead.
 
During the first quarter, Messiah's Amber High led the Falcons with six points, scoring all six of her points in the first three and a half minutes.
 
Falcons Take the Lead
A three from Eleana Eckley on the opening possession of the second quarter gave the Falcons the lead back at 18-16. The Eagles and Falcons traded buckets for most of the quarter and with 2:42 remaining the score would be tied 24-24.
 
Back-to-back free throws from Eckley started a 7-0 Messiah run to end the half and give the Falcons a 31-24 advantage at the break. During the burst, Chloe Milanesi made a jumper and Megan Zimmerman finished a three-point play in the final seconds.
 
Eastern Fights Back, but Messiah Holds On
Messiah grew their lead to as many as nine points at 39-30 with three minutes left in the third quarter, but the Eagles ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to trim the Falcons' cushion to three with 10 minutes remaining at 39-36.
 
In the fourth, Messiah quickly bumped their lead to eight with a three from Chloe Milanesi and a layup from Megan Zimmerman. From there the Falcons held at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the contest. The eventually held on for the seven-point victory, winning by a final score of 60-53.
 
What's Up Next
As mentioned, with the victory Messiah improves to 6-1 overall on the season and improves their MAC Commonwealth record to 2-0. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the York Spartans on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 6:00 p.m.