ROCHESTER, Pa. – The Messiah women's basketball team suffered a 57-44 setback in the Championship Game of the Rochester Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday evening. The Falcons fell into the early hole, trailing 21-10 at the end of the opening quarter and were unable to get back in to the game against the strong Yellow Jacket squad.
Reese Harden led the Falcons with 19 points in the game while
Morgan Adams snagged a team-high nine rebounds.
Messiah moves to 1-1 on the young season and will be back in action on Friday night when they host the Lycoming Warriors to begin their Tip-Off Tournament on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. Clarks Summit and SUNY New Paltz will be the other two teams in Grantham for the weekend. Messiah will play at 7:00 p.m. against Lycoming.
How It Happened
The Yelow Jackets steadily built their lead throughout the opening quarter. After a
Faith Grula jumper with five minutes to play in the first quarter, Messiah was within two points at 10-8, but Rochester finished the quarter on an 11-2 run to take an 11-10 lead into the second quarter.
That lead quickly jumped to 15 points at 28-13 following a three, a layup, and a jumper in the first three minutes of the second quarter. Messiah worked the lead down to single digits on two occasions at 28-19 and 30-21, but Rochester took a 35-23 lead into the locker room at half time.
Messiah scored just six points in the third quarter with
Amber High,
Reese Harden, and
Morgan Adams each finishing a bucket. After the quiet offensive quarter, Rochester expanded their lead to 16 points at 45-29 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was Messiah's best offensive quarter, scoring 15 points against 12 for the Yellow Jackets. After a pair of
Reese Harden free throws, Messiah was able to cut the lead down to 11 points at 53-46 with exactly three minutes remaining. That was as close as the Falcons would get as Rochester closed out the 57-44 victory.
For their play across Friday and Saturday,
Morgan Adams and
Reese Harden were named to the All-Tournament Team.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will host their annual Tip-Off Tournament next weekend with two games on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Friday night and two more on Saturday. On Friday, Clarks Summit and SUNY New Paltz will square off at 5:00 p.m. while the Falcons will take on Lycoming College at 7:00 p.m. The winners will meet on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Tip-Off Championship Game while the losses will connect in the Consolation Game at 1:00 p.m.