FREDERICK, Md. – The No. 17 Messiah women's basketball team dominated Hood College on the road on Wednesday night, earning a 70-34 decision. Leah Springer scored a game-high 17 points while reeling in 14 rebounds, also a game-high mark. Amber High and Morgan Adams each made notable contributions as each tallied 13 points. Adams, who also recorded nine rebounds and two blocks, has notched double-figures scoring in three of the past four contests.
 
With the victory, Head Coach Mike Miller secured his 700th career win at Messiah, the most all-time in program history.
 
Messiah improves its 2021-22 overall record to 13-2 (7-1 MAC Commonwealth) while maintaining its perfect all-time record opposite the Blazers (18-0).
 
After nearly two scoreless minutes to open the game, High scored the contest's first bucket, finishing a layup through contact and cashing the free throw to follow to give the Falcons a 3-0 edge. Despite the game getting off to a low-scoring start, Messiah dominated the boards. In the opening 4:30 of action, the Falcons out-rebounded the Blazers, 10-1, including five offensive rebounds.
 
Adams scored the Falcons' next four points, converting a layup at the 5:35 mark and draining a jumper just 25 seconds later to give Messiah a 7-2 lead. After a pair of made free throws from Springer and another layup by Adams, the Falcons led the Blazers at the end of the first quarter, 11-6. In the opening period, Messiah out-rebounded Hood, 17-4.
 
Messiah got off to a fast start in the second quarter, scoring six-straight points from the span of 9:27-8:35 to prompt the Blazers to burn a timeout. During the scoring run, High drained a three-pointer and added a layup while Springer nailed a jump shot to increase the Falcons' advantage to 18-6.
 
The Falcons' offense was dormant for the next four minutes of gameplay until Springer connected on a baseline jumper with 4:20 remaining in the half. The jumper gave Messiah a 20-8 lead as Chloe Milanesi scored her first basket of the game on the following possession, a jump shot to increase the lead to 14 points (22-8).
 
In the final 4:27 of the half, the Falcons rode a momentous 12-0 scoring run to own a commanding 30-8 lead at halftime. During the scoring spurt, Springer tallied six points as Milanesi, High, and Adams all notched field goals.
 
Out-rebounding the Blazers in the opening half, 30-11, Springer reeled in a game-leading 11 rebounds as Milanesi totaled nine rebounds.
 
The hosts opened up the second half with a 5-0 scoring run, halted by a Milanesi jump shot at the 8:27 mark. Adams scored her fifth field goal just 24 ticks later, a made layup to give the Falcons a 34-15 lead.
 
Both Sidney Stutzman and Reese Harden got on the scoresheet in the third quarter. At the 6:50 mark, Stutzman connected on a triple as Harden nailed a jumper with 5:59 remaining in the quarter, building the advantage to 24 points (39-15). Harden proceeded to hit a three-pointer with just under five minutes remaining (4:51) as Springer scored Messiah's next five points. Springer's five-consecutive points occurred in just a span of 1:20 of gameplay, hitting two jump shots and scoring on a free throw attempt.
 
The Falcons shot an impressive 68.8% (11-16) from the floor in the third quarter, leading the Blazers heading into the final period of play, 55-21. Emma Bell contributed in the final minute of the third quarter, scoring four points on two made layups while reeling in two rebounds.
 
High connected on her second three-pointer of the contest to begin the Falcons' scoring for the fourth quarter following two-consecutive baskets from Hood to begin the period. Harden connected on jumpers in back-to-back possessions, giving Messiah a 62-29 lead with just 6:36 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Messiah outscored Hood, 8-5, in the final five minutes of gameplay to secure the commanding 70-34 road decision. Both Haley Wagman (2) and Sydney Hoffman (4) scored points for the Falcons in the final minutes of the contest.

In total, Messiah used a total of nine different scorers to secure their seventh-consecutive victory, reeling in 52 total rebounds in comparison to the Blazers' 23 rebounds.
 
What's Next
The Falcons return to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena this Saturday, Jan. 22, hosting Eastern University at 4:00 p.m.