GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah women's basketball team pounced on visiting Franklin & Marshall College early in the first quarter on its way to a 63-48 victory on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Monday evening. The Falcons outscored the Diplomats in the opening period, 21-3, as Leah Springer led all scorers with 15 points, reeling in 10 rebounds to complete her seventh double-double of the season.
 
Early in the first quarter, Springer notched her 1,500th career point as a Falcon, becoming just the third player in program history to accomplish the feat.
 
The Falcons used a dominant first quarter to earn a commanding advantage. In the opening period, Messiah outscored the Diplomats 21-3. Beginning the game on a 19-0 scoring run that lasted 7:28, the Falcons never looked back. Springer led all scorers with six points in the first quarter as Messiah shot an impressive 9-15 (60%) from the floor.
 
Eleana Eckley (5), Amber High (4), Morgan Adams (4), and Chloe Milanesi (2) also made key offensive contributions in the opening quarter.
 
The second quarter was more tightly-contested as Messiah edged the visiting Diplomats in the period by just one point (17-16). The highlight of the quarter came at the 2:11 mark when High connected on a shot from beyond the arc to increase Messiah's lead to 34-15. Two possessions later, Adams drilled a jump shot to expand the advantage to 17 points (36-19). Following two successful free throws from High with four seconds remaining in the half, Messiah entered halftime with a comfortable 38-19 edge over Franklin & Marshall.
 
In the first half, the Falcons shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
The Falcons outscored the Diplomats in the third quarter, 19-15. The opening two minutes of the quarter were scoreless until Springer made a jumper at the 7:51 mark. Messiah achieved its largest lead of the contest, a 25-point edge (57-32) with just 55 ticks left in the third period after Adams converted a layup. Entering the fourth quarter of play, the Falcons led 57-34.
 
Despite shooting just 3-17 (17.65%) in the fourth quarter, Messiah earned the 63-48 victory. With the win, the Falcons improve their 2021-22 record to 10-2 (3-1 MAC Commonwealth).
 
Adams, scoring 12 points, posted double-digits scoring for the second time this season as High notched 13 points behind a 4-for-7 shooting performance.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah returns to the court this Saturday, Jan. 8, hosting Alvernia University (6-5, 0-3 MAC Commonwealth) at 4:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.