GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah women's basketball team dropped a home game to York College (Pa.), 61-55, Wednesday night in Hitchcock Arena. Despite the loss, Eleana Eckley connected on four three-pointers for a team-high 19 points. Leah Springer scored 12 points and contributed 16 rebounds as Morgan Adams tallied eight points.
 
Messiah notched its first field goal 90 seconds into the contest when Eckley made a move for the hoop and dished the ball over to Megan Zimmerman for an easy layup, taking a 4-2 lead. The two sides traded buckets before a three-pointer from Chloe Milanesi at the 5:05 mark broke a 9-9 tie, giving the Falcons a 12-9 lead. The Spartans outscored the Falcons in the final five minutes, 6-5, but Messiah led by two points (17-15) at the end of the quarter. Springer led all scorers with six points, connecting on two-of-three attempts from the floor.
 
Morgan Adams got on the board for Messiah at the 8:43 mark of the second quarter, finishing a driving layup with her left hand to put the Falcons ahead by four points (19-15). A York three-pointer with 6:03 left on the clock brought the visitors back within one point, 21-20, as a made layup on its following possession gave the Spartans the lead (22-21). Trailing by one point, Amber High made a steal and finished the layup on the opposite end to reclaim the lead, 23-22. The Falcons outscored York in the final four minutes of the half, 9-6, to take a 32-28 advantage into the break. Springer recorded four points during that span, finishing the half with a game-high 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Messiah had seven different point contributors in the half, including six points each from Eckley and Zimmerman. Alana Bortner provided much of the offense for visiting York, scoring 14 first-half points behind a 5-for-7 shooting performance.
 
Eckley began the second half of play by connecting with a three-pointer, promptly putting the Falcons ahead by seven points (35-28). It was the second made triple of the game for the senior guard, tallying two more points on the free throw line at the 8:26 mark to give Messiah a 37-32 lead. A 6-0 scoring spurt from the Spartans put the visitors ahead, 38-37, before a jumper from Milanesi reclaimed the lead (39-38) for Messiah. The play of the quarter came at the 3:59 mark when Eckley beat the shot clock buzzer with a deep three-pointer to extend the Falcons lead to 42-38. At that point in the contest, two of Eckley's three triples barely beat the shot clock buzzer.
 
Adams connected on three field goals in the final 2:03 of the third quarter as Messiah entered the fourth quarter with a four-point edge, 50-46.
 
Messiah's offense fell quiet in the final quarter of play. The Spartans jumped out to a commanding 57-50 lead following an 11-0 scoring run that lasted 6:10. The Falcons did not score in the opening period until the 1:10 mark when Eckley drained her fourth three-pointer of the game to bring Messiah back within a four-point deficit (57-53). It was too little and too late for Messiah, as York outscored the Falcons in the final quarter, 15-5. The Spartans ended the game converting 29 points of Messiah turnovers.
 
The 61-55 decision drops Messiah's overall record to 6-2 (1-1 MAC Commonwealth). The loss is just the second all-time defeat in Hitchcock Arena in Messiah women's basketball history.